The Future of Work (An Abstract)

in #futurology8 years ago (edited)

Everybody works.

There are different kinds of jobs, different kinds of people, and different marketplaces for employment. The point of working is to have access to resources. Generally, there are two kinds of work in the marketplace: full-time and part-time.

One-for-one work fulfilment.

For the most part in highly-efficient industries, people are often viewed as one-dimensional, singular cogs to fit into big wheels. One specific purpose per person. And this is true for most long-term employment. It's a practice for stability and cost-effectiveness. Afterall, this kind of work is usually a long string of processes, and is best handled consistently by one person.

Multiple-for-multiple work fulfilment.

On the other hand, we have the part-time / freelancing paradigm, in which the marketplace has plenty of piecemeal jobs and they all require fulfilment by an aggregate of participants. So for example, at any point in time, a marketplace requires tasks X, Y, and Z to be fulfilled - so the market action is to acquire relevant contributors to complete the tasks.

A smarter, hyper-connected future.

In any case, imagine a future where every single person is multi-dimensionally defined by community ratings via a matrix of blockchains, and the work fulfilment marketplace becomes technologically adept enough to break down all kinds of jobs into smaller chunks, effectively increasing the surface area for market connectivity.

This will create an abundance of opportunities as work, education, leisure, and autonomy becomes one and the same. With advanced AIs and social consensus mechanisms, the expansive arrays of the gig economy would be on-demand and networked intelligently.

Taking it to the extremes, the future of work is one that will be so convenient and efficient that every stream of emergent human activity will be able to create or fulfil market demands anywhere in the world, any time.

A person will no longer be assumed by the market as a one-dimensional actor, but a multivariate entity that represents the many smaller cogs that make up the machine called civilization.

Note: This is a precursor to a larger article and this payout will supply the necessary calories and nutrients to survive through both the illustrating and writing period!


Image from Wikimedia.


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Yes! Thats the end goal lol.

But thats an extremely biased scenario. Equally on the other end of the spectrum, I think the future will be optimized more for 6 packs and chiseled faces. Maybe that's more scary!

A scenario I would prefer to be part of is one where it's not about total optimization of industries. Not in the fast food sense, but a slowed-down playing field where the human experience is the focus.

For example, maybe I want to travel to New York, and there will be plenty of options to reach my destination, and I may choose the one that puts me on a 5 month long travel with a cruiseship which I would be in the position to learn, study, and report on marine wildlife and have a mass-customizable plethora of activities along the way that allows me to access the resources that I need. Something like that.

Yeah, but why won't AI provide you with the travel experience you mention? AI has the potential offer a better "human experience" than humans... All of the irregularity and charm of human work, but without the hazards and headache. Unless you want that bit of pain as well! Of course, human supremacy will keep demand for these services alive a while longer.

Hmm I'm not a human supremacist, and I think things tend to find a middle-ground. Optimization is a weird thing. Let's consider our walking shoes - the shoe designers / manufacturers will claim they're optimized for walking in all terrains. But what we have is a walking plane that curves in limited ways according to the terrain. Then we have those skin "shoes" which are like socks and fits exactly to the shape of your foot, and have military-grade protection.. so point is, optimization may tend to the most unartificial solution (which is entirely artificial, since it's by design).

There is still no signs of getting a computer to think outside the box. AI will not replace human innovation. And Invention does not come from thinking harder/better. (If you want proof of this, go and study muses)

Some say that human experience is everything. Even with VR goggles and a touch suit, that would only tickle 3 senses. Whereas a real experience fully engages all 13 senses.

And, I can get a CNC machine to cut out almost any wood part. Or I can do it by hand with chisels. If the goal is not to get something "done", then doing it by hand is far more rewarding. And can be far more beautiful.

Hmm... Interesting. "Sadly" I've been out of "work" for nearly 5 years because my resume made me overqualified for PT jobs like being a cashier at Walmart or wherever. I say "sadly" because a steady bit of income would be nice. However, I've been freelancing off and on since the 90s. It's feast or famine, but I've done everything from building websites to writing reviews to grocery shopping for the elderly. A jack of all trades and master of none. Frankly, I'm at a point where I don't really want a J-O-B (Journey Of Brokenness). I don't have much but I'm definitely a happier soul. But hey, I won't turn down work because I do like to treat myself once in a while. LOL

I think you're already geared for the future of work and (optional) basic income :)
Soon the specialized 9-5 job positions will face a lot of problems. I can relate as I'm also all across the board and don't really gear myself into mastering anything. They say it takes 10,000 hours to be a master of something.. well maybe the time I'm spending everyday as a generalist is making me a master generalist :p

I've definitely got 10,000 hours dedicated to many things...but I can attribute that to also being OLD and having X amount of hours for stuff. LOL
And I'm spending a great amount of time on Steemit! hahaha! Maybe one day it will pay off? I'm hopeful :D

Generally, there are two kinds of work in the marketplace: full-time and part-time.

Would you qualify this by amount of time invested, income received or some other criteria?

First databases, then came relational databases forever changing the paradigm of data storage.

First came blockchains, then came blockchain matrices.
Mind blown.

Anyone want to discus ideas of linking blockchains sideways?

I call that the Transmutation Protocol for some reason..

Good name. Reminds me of act of manipulating N-dimensiolan object by (N+1)-dimensional mechanism - say, like turning left show into right shoe by manipulating it in 4th (spatial) dimension. Currencies are exchanged on the same level (in the same dimension), but manipulating blockchains is more advanced art. For now it truly sounds like magic to me (until I learn the art myself, then it will be simple day-to-day alchemy)...

Yup, I've been spending ages trying to illustrate something like this.. but it's not easy for someone who's not an expert in illustrations..

I like the name. Please make a post with all your musings. It will get at least one upvote.

My "earlier" writings were more crypto-related :)

Let's face it, Society will be on the internet.

Isnt it already??

I think i'll be writing more bitesized posts these days :)

It's in fashion toο!

Thank you! Any thoughts to add to it? :)

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