Megan J. McArdle, a journalist, shares her thoughts on artificial intelligence and its potential impact on jobs, including her own. She explores the historical context of the Luddites, who resisted technological change, and argues that despite the immediate fears, halting progress would be a disservice to future generations, who benefit immensely from the innovations of the past.
A Journalist's Dilemma
It seems like everyone is thinking about artificial intelligence these days, and for many, that thought comes with a bit of panic. For Megan J. McArdle, a columnist for The Washington Post, the concern isn't about doomsday scenarios. Instead, it's about what AI means for jobs, especially her own. She spent a lot of money on an MBA only to become a journalist, a career choice that wasn't exactly known for its big payouts. She just wanted to do something important and something she truly enjoyed.
Now, AI is getting better and better at writing. It can produce competent prose, and that makes her wonder what she'll do if writing words for a living stops being a viable career. As someone who believes in progress and creative destruction, she finds herself in a tricky spot.
Understanding the Luddites
You don't often hear people praising the Luddites, but McArdle suggests they had a point. Today, the term "Luddite" is often used for anyone who is scared of technology. But the original Luddites weren't just people who preferred old ways. They were skilled craftspeople who made handmade textiles. Back then, everyone wore handmade clothes.
Then, machine-powered mills started to cut prices using new technology, like spinning jennies that could make yarn really fast. So, the Luddites decided to destroy the machines. McArdle admits she feels some sympathy for them, especially as new AI models keep coming out.
The Price of Progress
We often talk about how great freedom and progress are, and they really are. But they aren't free. Sometimes, people get hurt, and often, a lot of people get hurt. Think about it: the printing press made knowledge more widely available, but it also led to things like witch burnings and religious wars. The Industrial Revolution improved living standards, but it also brought grim factory jobs, poor city living conditions, and lots of pollution.
Modern governments can help ease some of these problems, but they can't give people back the lives they had. We have to think about these costs. Even so, McArdle believes we should be ready to accept these costs and let the future unfold. Why? Because we all benefit from past decisions to put future growth ahead of protecting the present.
Our Debt to the Future
Most of us today don't worry about where our next meal comes from, or having a roof over our heads, or staying warm. We don't have to bury children who died from simple illnesses before their first birthday. These worries used to be normal for people. We've only escaped them because of incredible luck with timing. This is a precious gift we didn't earn, and McArdle thinks we have a duty to pass it on, leaving an even better world for our grandchildren.
To do anything else, she says, is a kind of theft. It's stealing from the future. Imagine if the Luddites had actually managed to stop progress. They would have effectively reached into the future and taken almost everything we have today for their own benefit. A spinning jenny selling a few spools of yarn would mean you wouldn't have a car. A hand-loom weaver selling a cloak would mean no fridge, no central heating, no university education. It would mean thousands of children still dying from preventable diseases.
So, when you feel like stopping an innovation that might threaten your job, you have to ask yourself: how much am I willing to steal from everyone's grandchildren?
A Modern Fairy Tale
Some might say, "But this time it's different. We already have good things like aeroplanes, mRNA vaccines, and good TV." But the Luddites would have thought the same thing. They couldn't imagine a future where an ordinary worker lived a healthier, more comfortable life than a 19th-century royal.
Others might reasonably ask about climate change or endangered species. Is progress really that good? McArdle suggests you think about your last trip to the dentist and then imagine it without anaesthetic. The same Industrial Revolution that led to climate change also made us rich enough to move millions of workers from farming and textiles into science and medicine. It also gives us the tools to fight environmental problems. We couldn't have known any of this at the start; we had to live through the changes to understand what they meant.
It's often easy to see the short-term downsides of progress. Just read any article about AI. But the long-term benefits are harder to grasp because progress builds up over time, and the longer it builds, the stranger it gets.
Think about trying to explain your life today to a Luddite. Not just things like indoor plumbing, which is pretty amazing. But try explaining mass higher education, or the BBC, or nursing roles, or even stag weekends. Weekends themselves, for that matter! What about suburbs and pizza delivery? Or a country so well-off that when a pandemic hits, people can afford to wait at home while scientists quickly work on a "magic potion" to help stop people from dying. To a Luddite, that would sound like a fairy tale. And they'd be right. We live in a fairy tale land, and we all have "magic wands" in our pockets (our phones).
It wasn't just one invention like the spinning jenny. It was an unmatched wave of innovation after innovation. Many of these innovations took away good jobs, but together, they also made it possible for us to be in a room together, or listening online, instead of huddled by a smoky fire knitting socks to sell.
Key Takeaways
So, back to the start. Yes, McArdle is scared of AI. She expects the government might try to help displaced workers with retraining. But like the Luddites, she's a human working in a proud tradition. She doesn't want government handouts; she wants the career she's spent over 20 years building.
However, when she's awake at night, wishing she could stop or slow down AI, she reminds herself why she shouldn't, even if she could. She believes she has no right to steal the future from our grandchildren, because she's already living in someone else's future, and it's far better than they could have ever imagined.
Progress comes with a cost, but the long-term benefits often outweigh the short-term pain.
We are beneficiaries of past innovation and have a responsibility to continue that legacy for future generations.
Halting technological advancement, even out of fear for jobs, could be seen as "stealing from the future".
The unforeseen positive outcomes of innovation are often far greater than initially imagined.
