Watch this haunting short film about a woman who has the last job that hasn't been taken by a robot
The Guardian/YouTube
On her way to work, Alice sees a headline informing her of job rumors sparking a migration crisis in India. A little later she sees a billboard advertising an "Over 30s" retirement home and a snaking line outside a food bank.
This is the world inhabited by the person with the last job on Earth.
At just under a three-minute run time, a new animated short from The Guardian lays bare a grim future in which robots have displaced humans in all areas of the workforce.
The scariest part of the video is that it's entirely plausible.
According to President Obama's February report to Congress, 62% of jobs could be at risk due to robots automating low-wage jobs. A separate report from Oxford University in 2013 found 50% of jobs could get taken over within the next 10 to 20 years — a prediction backed up in a McKinsey report released last year, which even suggested today's technology could feasibly replace 45% of jobs right now.
As technology advances — a trend driven by humanity's thirst for efficiency — those advances could end up taking over many of the industries that once seemed inextricably linked to human labor. The future we're creating could be one where we're no longer necessary.
Alice's reality isn't here yet, but that doesn't mean we aren't speeding toward it.
Check out the beautiful short film here:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yvs7f4UaKLo
Width: 853px
Height: 480px
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