Episode 27 – Living in a World without Work

Growing up, our parents and teachers explained that  if we kept our heads down and tried hard at school or whatever else we chose to do, then a future of stable paid work will be waiting for us. As we got older, we can expect to be paid more and when we were old we can stop working and draw on the fruits of our labors.

Life was all about work – Preparing for it, doing it, retiring from it.

And that seemed ok

Is the world without work inevitable with the accelerating technology progress?

Is it a good thing?

How do we handle an era with no work for humans?

1. The problem of inequality or working out how to share the economic prosperity with everyone in society
2. The problem of political power – of determining who gets to control the tech responsible for the prosperity and on what terms?
3. The problem of meaning. Of figuring out how to use this prosperity not just to live with less work but to live well

Given the depth and my interest in the topic, I am doing this as a series of 7 short videos, discussing key concepts from the book along with  a guest through this week.

Stay tuned!