Uber co-founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick has a completely different argument for people worried about AI taking over jobs. He in his argument told how automation of jobs due to AI will eventually lead to an increase in the value of human work.
While speaking on the TBPN podcast, Travis Kalanick said that when machines automate most tasks, the remaining human roles could become the bottleneck for progress, dramatically increasing their value.
Why could human skills become more important?
Travis Kalanick explained this idea with a simple example. He gave the example of plumbers. Even if machines build buildings faster, the buildings still need proper plumbing systems. If plumbers are the only people who can do that work, their demand could rise sharply. Travis Kalanick even compared their importance in such a world to star athletes because their skills would become rare and highly needed.
Automation could still create jobs
Travis Kalanick also said automation usually increases productivity and reduces costs. When industries become more productive, businesses may expand faster, which can also create new kinds of jobs for people.
For example, companies working on self-driving vehicles may still need humans to supervise the systems. One person could monitor many autonomous vehicles at the same time. As the technology grows, more such monitoring and support roles may appear.
The limit of automation
However, Kalanick admitted that this situation may not last forever. He said human work will remain valuable only until artificial intelligence becomes advanced enough to fully replace people in almost every task.
Until that stage arrives, humans will still play an important role in many industries. While machines may improve efficiency and productivity, human skills will continue to be important where technology still has limits.
Conflicting viewpoints on this debate
Travis Kalanick’s comments come at a time when many experts are debating how AI will affect employment. Some fear large-scale job losses, while others believe new technologies will create new opportunities over time.
For now, Kalanick’s view suggests that automation may not simply replace people. Instead, it could change the type of work humans do and make certain skills more valuable in the future.