Then they can find employment in industries facing dire shortages like education and nursing. If the only goal is to put unqualified people into seats for a paycheck then it doesn’t matter what they do for income.
However, retraining may become really hard. Especially if you're already, say, a 60 year old programmer (or business analyst, or executive assistant, etc.) who suddenly needs to become a (AI assisted) teacher or nurse.
Wouldn't most of those people look towards early retirement? We've failed as a society if 60 year olds end their career in one of the highest paying professions and they cant cover rent and food.
I know a few people who are a bit younger (maybe 55?) and who, after a career in high impact jobs, found themselves without any possible position. I know that they're not nearly ready to retire. I don't know about how much savings they have.
In these cases, that's entirely independent from AI, but I suspect that AI will only make it harder.
And yes, it feels to me like society is failing for many people who are approaching retirement age.
Let's try and come up with a few examples. I know two people who are former C-rank executives, both of them with strong ethical backbones. They have both led very high-profile projects (most people on HN know some of these projects). At this stage of their career, you could even say that ethics are not just part of their beliefs but also their personal brand.
They have both been on the market for a few years by now.
1. Nobody will hire them as rank-and-file. It just doesn't make sense.
2. At least one of them has received offers to be the ethical maskerade for a company that actually violently goes against their ethics. They said "no".
Last time I heard from them, they were both retraining in very different domains... with limited career success.
How old are you?
This is a very idealistic point of view. I might call it a "I watch a lot of Star Trek" utopian kind of view.
Vast majority of people in the real world do a "useless job". What do you think they should be doing and how do they get those alternative opportunities to feed themselves and their families?
Not to be glib, but I think you're too locked into an ideology.
Idealistically we shouldn't be working in jobs that do not add value to society, that could well include my job.
You work 8 hours to live 4.
You work 5 days to enjoy 2.
You work 8 hrs to eat lunch in 30 mins.
You work all year to take a week or two holiday.
You work all your life to retire in old age.
You might claim that people need to work to live, but honestly, if you're not adding value to society then expending resources and wasting your life is.. just wasteful? It's not just stupid it's literally harmful.
We're not post-scarcity, and I'm certainly not saying that there's no value in people's jobs -- I'm not even saying where to draw the line, but I think there is a line to be drawn. Driving a 4x4 to work as a greeter in a large shopping mall is just a confoundingly stupid notion and saying that a person should not be able to live without doing something as stupid as that is... well, quite divorced from the reality of the universe outside.
Not to say that there isn't a sociological requirement for people to feel useful, but that feeling could easily be found in more humane sections of life like being a good parent or good neighbour.
