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RE: Automation: the unstoppable future ~ Episode 00
I am convinced that automation is not a black and white issue. I enjoy the optimism in your article but there are some realities we must face.
Automation will cause job losses and difficulties to any population however short it maybe. But if government and businesses make smart decisions in the long term more better paying jobs will be created out of it.
This is why in the modern age we live in vocational job training should be advocated as a alternative to college. This can be done with the government offering some incentives and companies giving part time paid work with job training.
If these types of programs are correctly executed, the next generation can have jobs they like with decent pay.
Thanks for your comment!
I completely agree with you, the transition will not be without any problem. It's clear that jobs will be lost and many people, especially the older ones, will find themselves out of a job market that goes too fast for them. This is the reason why I strongly agree with Bill Gates when he says that we should pay taxes on automation: this would give to the governments the resources necessary to improve the welfare and to sustain those people that are not able to relocate.
As for vocational job training, what you say it's completely true. A country that is doing very well in that is Germany, where college is not the only road for finding a decent job. By sustaining these policies before than other countries in Europe, they have now a very well trained population which is able to cope with new technologies. Italy, for example, does the exact contrary and it's stuck in a incredible situation: while the unemployment level is sky high, especially for young people, it's full of companies that look for qualified manufacturing and can't find it.