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Artificial Intelligence, Historical Materialism, and close enough to a jobless society

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  • Rogerio Silva Mattos

    (Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora)

Abstract

Advancing artificial Intelligence draws most of its power from the artificial neural network, a software technique that has successfully replicated some information processing functions of the human brain and the unconscious mind. Jobs are at risk to disappear because even the tacit knowledge typically used by humans to perform complex tasks is now amenable to computerization. The paper discusses implications of this technology for capitalism and jobs, concluding that a very long run transition to a jobless economy should not be discarded. Rising business models and new collaborative schemes provide clues for how things may unfold. A scenario in which society is close enough to full unemployment is analyzed and strategic paths to tackle the challenges involved are discussed. The analysis follows an eclectic approach, based on the Marxist theory of historical materialism and the job task model created by mainstream economists.

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  • Rogerio Silva Mattos, 2019. "Artificial Intelligence, Historical Materialism, and close enough to a jobless society," Working Papers hal-02502178, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02502178
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02502178
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    References listed on IDEAS

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