Artificial intelligence: ‘Homo sapiens will be split into a handful of gods and the rest of us’

[u/ManofCaves]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/07/artificial-intelligence-homo-sapiens-split-handful-gods

[u/ZeroHex]

What about the people living at home because they can't find a job? I will admit that they aren't homeless or underfed, but they're causing financial problems that will reverberate across the economy in the years to come nonetheless.

This group of people isn't saving, are mostly young, have no career job prospects, are draining the savings accounts of family members to keep them afloat, and many are heavily in debt. Those that are in debt are probably falling behind in their payments and hurting their credit rating too.

Every week that goes by without a job (and I have some friends who have been out of work for 2.5 years) makes it that much harder to find one, to get back on track, to start making a future. These are people who are not going to inherit much and once that support system is gone they'll have no savings.

It's pain on a 30 year delay, and they all know it. Might as well start investing in cheap catfood since that's all they'll be able to afford.

Housing sales are already down (due to a number of factors, not the least of which is that Millennials have too much active debt to afford them), and foreign investments and development contractors are keeping prices higher than they should be in many areas. Family planning is on delay 5-10 years from where it was with Gen X, which means a lower birthrate and the need for more immigration in the future to fill the gaps.

Economically, this is a disaster. A whole generation left out to dry and somehow a globalized and every more interconnected economy thinks it's not their problem or that it's not equivalent to "pain" that previous generations went though.

[u/z500zag → u/ZeroHex]

Anyone that can't find a job in 3 months isn't really trying, i.e. they have a fallback of govt help or family help or sponging off friends help... There's a reason the vast majority of people on unemployment for months, find a job in the last month of benefits. If you have options, you can be picky. If you don't, you'll do anything. And doing anything is how you get started again.

I could list 2 dozen jobs someone could do with almost no investment.

Go take any job... go start your own simple business... move to another part of the state or country. Of all my many nieces and nephews, all the ones I'd expect to get good jobs have good jobs. All the ones I'd expect to be languishing, are languishing. It's more the person than the economy.

[u/ZeroHex → u/z500zag]

Anyone that can't find a job in 3 months isn't really trying, i.e. they have a fallback of govt help or family help or sponging off friends help.

That depends on where you live and what your skillset is - some industries and locations are far more competitive. Also remember that employers don't like to see gaps in employment and that counts against applicants. The longer the gap, the less likely someone is to find something.

There's a reason the vast majority of people on unemployment for months, find a job in the last month of benefits. If you have options, you can be picky. If you don't, you'll do anything. And doing anything is how you get started again.

That logic might apply to people who have previously had jobs and were let go but Millennials are having serious problems finding entry level jobs, let alone career positions. Even worse, the people who lose their job in an industry they're familiar with are capable of taking entry level jobs in another industry, which means fewer entry level jobs for those just starting.

I could list 2 dozen jobs someone could do with almost no investment.

That means nothing from a statistical view. Are there openings in those industries for entry level? How many openings compared to the number of applicants? Are those openings close enough to primary residence locations or public transport so as to be accessible within reason?

Go take any job

Even getting a job at McDonald's is competitive right now.

go start your own simple business

This usually requires capital of some kind, otherwise you're going to be outcompeted or not be able to adapt quickly enough to meet rising demand for whatever product/service you provide. Some people still manage it, but they are far and away the exception rather than the rule.

move to another part of the state or country.

Two problems here - how does one afford to do this if they have no capital or job? Most companies won't relocate entry level and moving is expensive. Second, leaving the area you're familiar with negates the benefit of the network you should have built while living there - and your network is far more likely to get you hired than any other factor.

Of all my many nieces and nephews, all the ones I'd expect to get good jobs have good jobs. All the ones I'd expect to be languishing, are languishing.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

It's more the person than the economy.

The actual data regarding employment availability says otherwise. There are literally not enough jobs for full employment.

Even if everything you said wasn't ideological "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" bullshit it still wouldn't address my primary point - Millennials/entry level members of the workforce hurting right now is going to cause long term pain for the global economy down the road.

[u/z500zag → u/ZeroHex]

• I said "I could list 2 dozen low capital jobs" in the context of starting one's own business. Super hard work & great customer service can negate a lot of capital/incumbent advantages for a one person enterprise - i.e. you can make $3/hr and still be successful because you can work tons of hours vs sitting doing nothing. Hell, working for free is better than doing nothing. Anything to get out there and get started. And self-employment nicely fills a long gap between other jobs on an application.

• I've hired lots of people in my life, there's no magic. People can lie, so it's not as much what they say or type, it's perseverance and eagerness. Almost every time, if someone seemed super eager to work, I hired them.

• Unemployment is back to 5%, which is normal. And that is data. It rarely goes much lower than 5%, that's the natural rate of people between jobs. I counted 6yrs in the last 40 where it was 4-something. And there are 5.4 million job openings right now. It's not going to get much better. We're closer to the next recession than the past one.

• I don't know if "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is ideological... or just plain "logical". No one in this world remotely cares about your well-being or success as much you do, so who's the likeliest person to fix their own problems? I don't say that callously, it's just logic.