Mark Cuban joins the growing list of big names in technology and business that are voicing their concerns over the possibility of robots taking over humans. This time, Cuban stressed that robots will "cause unemployment."
The outspoken owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks has spoken up about the increasingly disturbing issue of a possible take-over of robots and artificial intelligence. According to the billionaire, unemployment is inevitable as long as the technology of automation continues to grow. The business mogul also said that the world needs to be ready for the inevitable. One way to meet this potential problem head on is, according to Cuban, to be a creative thinker. Cuban stresses that creative thinking will be the most wanted skill in 10 years' time after automation takes over all other jobs.
Cuban's sentiments echo those of Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Hawking intimated that automation and AI will decimate the middle class. In fact, it has already started decimating jobs in traditional manufacturing. Gates stressed that robots should also pay taxes since they will be taking over people who pay taxes doing the same jobs. Musk, the Tesla CEO, talked about how the people "whose jobs are to drive" will be greatly affected by the fast progress of autonomous technology. He mentioned that everybody should "figure out new roles" for those who will be displaced by automation. A group of robotics scientists has shared their worsening fear for the so-called Terminator Conundrum which will possibly happen due to the current robotic arms race among the huge nations such as China, Russia and the United States.
Cuban, who is a staunch critic of the new president, said in an interview with CNBC that Donald Trump is not that knowledgeable about technology advancements and that he and his administration will eventually have to deal with the workers that will be displaced or lose their jobs as a result of the high possibility of companies that are in the process of building new plants will rely more on automation and artificial intelligence.
A number of companies have already signified or have begun plans to automate their businesses. FedEx is working on using self-driving trucks and delivery bots while Amazon has already successfully delivered a package using a drone.
