The Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence

My daily interview with Cory Fleck of Korelin Economic Report went off the beaten path Wednesday with a discussion of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the economy. Coincidentally, an hour earlier in the Rick’s Picks chat room, I had dissed the word-recognition software I use to text in the room. Truth be told, it can’t even get a simple sentence right — probably because it was written by some quasi-illiterate millennial who never learned to spell or diagram a sentence.  From an economic standpoint, we shouldn’t kid ourselves that this is just one more technological leap that will create more jobs than it destroys. Although that has generally been true in the past, AI is fundamentally about removing human beings from work-flow charts. If workers are going to adapt, it will only be because of a massive shift in the education culture away from the humanities and toward the sciences. But as long as students remain feverishly obsessed with such imagined problems as ‘diversity,’ ‘racism,’ and ‘transgender rights,’ America has no future, economic or otherwise. To access the interview, click here.

  • VegasBob April 6, 2017, 2:20 pm

    I have long argued that the Democrats’ foray into ‘identity politics’ is a strategy doomed to failure.

    Except for the volunteer victimhood crowd, not that many people are obsessed with racism, fewer still actually believe the nonsense the left spews about diversity, and virtually no one cares a whit about so-called transgender rights.

    The truth is that these non-issues are no substitute for economic opportunity. It is economic opportunity that provides people with the actual freedom to pursue their dreams as they see fit, without interference from politicians and government bureaucrats.

    Unfortunately, Rick is right. So long as the left rules America’s universities and media, “America has no future, economic or otherwise.”

  • John Jay April 6, 2017, 12:25 pm

    AI/Millennials
    Spell? Nope!
    Diagram a sentence? Nope!
    Make change for a dollar? Nope!
    Cursive writing? Nope!
    Tattoo free? Nope!
    LOL!

  • none April 6, 2017, 8:50 am

    AI because it was an invention of man, it then will remain within the rules of man. Therefore as being use towards investment decision making vehicle will produce the same, as only the very few will remain in profit while all the others continuously lose.

    AI towards jobs will do the same, as there are only a few very good jobs in any society, so the same results will appear as all the other crap jobs will be the same for the majority of workers.

    The general thinking is that AI will create massive job loss, therefore look for AI to create an entire new industry of worthless small paying jobs, just as MCD created the ‘hamburger flipper’ when America truly enter the service economy decades ago.

    Education culture..well that will remain the same, a downward spiral started from the turn of the last century. Look for closing of high and low ranking colleges over time in the new America coming forth furthering the trend in force is a great short sale.

    The Nixon time cycle financial era was hit in the year 2016 and the window is close for the change of trend at hand. A great transfer of wealth from small hands to even smaller hands are in the sites.

    ‘diversity,’ ‘racism,’ and ‘transgender rights,’..is the trend in force and will remain in force until ‘necessity’ (the mother of invention) becomes a renew asset and not the liability as it is today.

    Great post Rick and have a great day.!!

    &&&&&&&

    Thanks for adding some keen observations to my commentary, Seneca.

    RA