If robots and AI take over more jobs, what will people do with their time? This topic of discussion gets plenty of attention lately. Yet we do not know if the foundational belief is true.
Here are my personal predictions, and not just coincidently, the areas listed in parenthesis where I am focusing more of my time and efforts:
- Creative work, hand skill activities, and personal projects expand. (My own focus on sustainable coastal construction, aquaculture and marina).
- Caregiving, community support, and volunteering increase (increased social engagement)
- Re-skilling and lifelong learning become the norm (a combination of tech, physical science, mechanical and human leadership skills)
- Expansion of AI-aligned jobs (CPA managing AI agents instead of humans)
- Expanded leisure, gaming and screen viewing, outdoor recreation, travel, and hobbies (marina)
- Mental-health problems expand
- Inequality and poverty rise sharply
- Social unrest and political instability increase (strengthen community social connections)
- Crime and violence rise (increased investment in security systems)
- Tech-authoritarian corporate structures emerge (IRS will be one)