Humans need not apply: a guide to wealth and work in the age of artificial intelligence

Humans Need Not Apply is a call to arms for the age of artificially intelligent machines. The robots are coming, but whether they will be working on behalf of society or a small cadre of the super-rich is very much in doubt.

Without adjustments to our economic system and regulatory policies, entrepreneur and technical innovator, Jerry Kaplan argues we may be in for an extended period of social turmoil. Widespread poverty against a backdrop of escalating comfort and wealth is not just the stuff of science fiction dystopias, but a very real risk for our future. Kaplan proposes innovative, free-market adjustments to our economic system and social policies to avoid an extended period of social turmoil, delivering a timely and accessible analysis of the promise and perils of artificial intelligence.

About the Book
After billions of dollars and fifty years of effort, researchers are finally cracking the code on artificial intelligence. As society stands on the cusp of unprecedented change, Jerry Kaplan unpacks the latest advances in robotics, machine learning, and perception powering systems that rival or exceed human capabilities. Driverless cars, robotic helpers, and intelligent agents that promote our interests have the potential to usher in a new age of affluence and leisure - but as Kaplan warns, the transition may be protracted and brutal unless we address the two great scourges of the modern developed world: volatile labor markets and income inequality.

He proposes innovative, free-market adjustments to our economic system and social policies to avoid an extended period of social turmoil. His timely and accessible analysis of the promise and perils of artificial intelligence is a must-read for business leaders and policy makers on both sides of the aisle.

About the speaker
Jerry Kaplan is widely known in the computer industry as a serial entrepreneur, technical innovator, and best-selling author. He is currently a Fellow at the Center for Legal Informatics at Stanford University and teaches ethics and impact of artificial intelligence in the Computer Science Department.

Kaplan received a Bachelor's degree in history and philosophy of science from the University of Chicago (1972), a Doctorate degree in computer and information science from the University of Pennsylvania (1979), and was a research associate in Computer Science at Stanford from 1979 to 1981.



Oxford Martin School,
University of Oxford
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk