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Yuval Noah Harari argues that when artificial intelligence pushes many out of work, we must forge new economic, social, educational systems. Those people who will become unemployed  will create a “useless class” which will need to be redirected, as opposed to the remaining “working class” which will be entrusted with the operating of the machinery. The article provides few ideas on how to prepare for the rise of the “useless class.” Looking at the consequences of the AI revolution, possible solutions that will change our societal structure are discussed.

By Sofia Ghezzi

April 22, 2022

Introduction 

Harari argues that when artificial intelligence will push many out of work, in order to deal with that part of the community, which could risk being marginalised, we must forge new economic, social, and educational systems. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (hereinafter “AI”) and the use of algorithms, it is inevitable that computerised devices will be invented to perform working functions in the form of hardware or software-based routines that will consequently force a huge portion of the population out of work. Automation will inevitably substitute many jobs causing the rise of a new “useless class,” as it is called by Harari, transforming the current societal structure.

Who will be part of the useless class?

In the aftermath of the AI revolution, “just as mass industrialization created the working class, the AI revolution will create a new unworking class.” The useless class, or “Homo Inutilis”, will be composed by those people working jobs that can easily be automated. In society, we will see a polarisation between two classes: i) a class that will remain as the only workforce in the society, who will take care of the functioning of the machines, and continue driving innovation, and ii) a useless class, that deprived of work, will not have any source of revenue. In this scenario, the military, tailors, factory workers will be substituted by machines; doctors will not be required anymore to perform surgeries or provide diagnosis as a machine will take their place, as well as robots will be able to find the best arguments to win a case instead of lawyers. By contrast, innovation, research, and creativity will arguably remain entrusted to humans. However, realistically we will have to deal with the portion of the society which will become unemployed, and possibly, unemployable.

The challenges of the useless class

Clearly, the useless class is a threat to the peace of the community for two main reasons: i) they will need a stream of revenue to survive, and ii) they will need a new purpose in life. The creation of the two classes will drive inequality even further and this would possibly give rise to malcontent and disorder within a community. Moreover, even with assured revenue streams provided by governments to the unemployed, the human psychology of this class needs to be considered. Can humans live happily without purpose in their life? How can we deal with the boredom of the useless class? According to Harari, “… nobody has any idea what kind of jobs or skills people will need in 30 years. Which means that we have absolutely no idea what to teach our children at school today (Speech by Harari, 2020). He continues claiming that even if the AI revolution would create new job opportunities, those opportunities would be for high-skilled jobs and most of the unemployed mass departing from less-skilled jobs will not be able to make the transition. So, what to do with the newly established useless class, “which has no military or economic usefulness, and therefore no political power?” and what to do with the new socio-economic bias created by the AI revolution?

Universal Basic Income Programs 

A solution to the loss of revenue stream is to urge governments to implement Universal Basic Income programs. Social policy reforms are surely needed to deal with the changing society structure and to avoid excessive inequality. Universal Basic Income programs provide for the government to tax big corporations and the rich, and subsequently use the revenues collected for every adult in society. Every citizen in society would receive a certain amount of money during the year to sustain themselves. Proponents of basic income claim that it is the best way to combat poverty and inequality (Samuel, 2020).

Along these lines, Paul Mason, a British commentator, proposes the transition of society towards a new form of socialism (Post-Capitalism, 2015). Mason believes that in the face of the issues of the digital age, the reality is that capitalism cannot continue forever: the State must do more to tame private finance, and individuals must do more to bypass it. Several countries, such as Finland between 2017 and 2018, have been starting to toy with the idea of introducing a basic income; and so far, the evidence suggests that the programs introduced increased happiness, health, school attendance, trust in social institutions, and reduced crimes (Samuel, 2020).

Societal revolution

Nonetheless, loss of revenue stream for the unemployed class is not the only problem which the AI revolution will bring. We will also need to deal with the boredom of the useless class including mental health implications. New socio-economic systems need to be created; we need to redirect or altogether forge new economic, social, and educational systems that will permit us to deal with the issue. A complete reform of the educational system seems obvious, although it is not as obvious what should be taught. According to  Murky Waters there will be no need to teach any more data to our children, but we will need to focus on liberating their creativity.

Conclusion

With the rise of the AI revolution and the imminent challenges that will be experienced by the useless class, new ethical principles, laws, social and labour market reforms will be needed (Van Duüren, 2020). As the useless class will have virtually no political power, as economically and military useless, should the values in the society be recalibrated? Can character and creativity become more important than knowledge for the success of a person? One thing that seems clear is that we need to brace ourselves for this transition, help each other, and be open-minded in light of future societal changes. 

References & Links

1. Speech by Harari, J. N. (2020). Workplace automation & the ‘Useless Class. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMDlfNWM1fA.
2. Harari, J. N. (2017). Reboot for the AI Revolution. 550 Nature 324-327.
3. Harari, J. N. (2017). The rise of the useless class. Ideas TED. Available at: https://ideas.ted.com/the-rise-of-the-useless-class/.
4. Samuel, S. (2020). Everywhere basic income has been tried in one map. VOX. Available at: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/19/21112570/universal-basic-income-ubi-map.
5. Runciman, D. (2015). Post capitalism by Paul Mason review: a worthy successor of Marx? The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/15/post-capitalism-by-paul-mason-review-worthy-successor-to-marx.
6. Murkey Waters (2020). Yuval Noah Harari’s “Useless Class”. Available at: https://murkywater.medium.com/yuval-noah-hararis-useless-class-1207bf9c457e.
7. Van Duüren, O. (2020). The birth of the Homo Inutilis: the useless class, the unemployed, and the unemployable. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/birth-homo-inutilis-useless-class-unemployed-olivier-van-du%C3%BCren/.