LVI. Robots, Profits, and People: Navigating the Future of Work in America

Before we get into the discussion, several leadership moments this week to ponder and learn from. South Korea, a democracy with strong ties to the US, survived its democratically elected president's attempt to impose martial law, further proving that democracies are inherently vulnerable and require constant protection by their people. Russian hubris in Ukraine has left President Bashar Al-Assad exposed in Syria, letting Syrian rebels gain strength (with probably American secret help) to overthrow the decades-old family autocracy there. Romania, doing what all democracies should do, has thrown out the first round of presidential voting, citing proof of foreign (Russian) influence via social media. The only ones upset with it? The autocrats. A lone gunman killed the head of one of America’s health conglomerations. The only ones upset with it? Fellow CEOs.  

I deal with students all day.

In many ways, they do not differ from most adults who have been out of school and working for years. Anxiety and problems never go away. They just change into novel forms.

I think we rush people too quickly into lifelong choices, since most of us will work forever. Better to have time to gain experience and the ability to grow. No, not all work is “fun”, but the balance between want to and have to needs to be healthy.

It’s a love-hate relationship for many reasons. The working world exists in a delicate balance between control and chaos, high value to low value. It’s a spectrum we must constantly navigate with both human behavior and societal expectations. The business has orders to fill. Humans have needs.

Throughout my career, I've witnessed the nuances of this balance, from saving colleagues from dismissal because of misperceptions, to observing the silent struggles of those battling personal demons, and encouraging others to take advantage of opportunities they don’t see for themselves. A true leader will try to protect the human aspect of living while maintaining professional responsibilities.

I’ve seen low-value workers put through monotonous rigor only to take an incredible amount of shit from customers. I’ve seen high-value staff whose only role is to keep order and maintain a mediocre status quo. These experiences highlight a critical flaw in most employment systems: the tendency to discard the human element for the sake of robotic transactions.

Consider the diverse array of professions that form the backbone of our society. Teachers who tirelessly guide and nurture young minds, outdoor instructors who impart valuable life skills, maintenance workers who keep cities livable, and service industry workers who ensure our daily conveniences—all contribute significantly to the fabric of our communities.

Yet, we often put such positions under very specific guidelines and underpay them to do it. We expect robotic perfection and dismiss the occasional chaos of being human. There’s no economic measure for the grocer who stops and talks to a customer, the teacher who spends extra time with a child, or the postal worker who delivers mail and knows the neighborhood.

There’s less and less value for these human things in our work culture.

This mindset not only devalues the work of the individual but also threatens to erode the social fabric that binds us. It values metrics on paper over the human who does the work, a hallmark of bureaucratic tendencies. This dehumanization of work is further exacerbated by rapid technological advancements.

I have been actively watching the daily rollout of AI applications. Having seen the rise of computers firsthand, I know when I see something that will change everything. While computers supported the growth of human abilities and the workforce, I have concerns with our progress in AI because of our current state of disregard for the average American job. The push towards automation and artificial intelligence in the workplace, while promising efficiency, raises serious concerns about societal upheaval.

Those advocating for looser regulation of AI, less oversight of social media and older media, and the deregulation and downsizing of government; it’s not that they fail to consider the far-reaching consequences of displacing human workers.

They see it and simply don’t care.

People like Musk, brilliant but with limited social skills, come from a place of being able to ride out any societal upheaval on a yacht on the open sea. They can afford to view workers as widgets to be built, broken, and discarded.

The consequences of this profit-driven approach are becoming increasingly apparent in today's corporate landscape. Recent examples of mass layoffs highlight the hidden costs to society. Elon Musk's companies, particularly Tesla and Twitter, have seen significant workforce reductions. Tesla announced layoffs affecting over 10% of its global workforce, approximately 14,000 employees. At Twitter, Musk cut about 80% of the staff, reducing it from 8,000 to 1,500 employees. These actions have far-reaching consequences beyond immediate job losses. Musk plowed at least $250 million of his money (we can assume at least some of these “savings” from staff cuts) into the Trump campaign. While the average citizen is having great difficulty in connecting A to B, there are at least some signs that people are seeing it. Musk’s business acumen is close to killing what was once Twitter and some buyers have turned against Tesla.

The historical alternative to the wealthy bros is President Theodore Roosevelt and his handling of the uber-wealthy of his day. Many of his party considered him a turncoat. Once in power, he realized that a small group of men had become so wealthy that they worked to outmaneuver the role of government in protecting and preserving a fair playing field and a “square deal” for workers everywhere.

He did something about it.

A century later, the lessons of history are gathering dust. We have become far too accepting of wealth, regardless of its origins. We are okay with arbitrary layoffs, minimal unemployment support, and including tasteless profit into our economic growth machine, whether addictive legal pharmaceuticals, building missiles, or rationing of healthcare.

Despite research that shows job loss leads to increased rates of depression, substance abuse, and even violent behavior among affected individuals, we accept it as normal. The true cost to society includes not only lost productivity but also increased healthcare expenses, social services strain, and potential long-term economic effects. For the sake of profit and Wall Street, the greater society bears the costs of losing jobs.

Most people want to work, and they want fulfillment in their work. From clock-in jobs to more flexible roles, from manual labor to creative pursuits, each form of work contributes to the functioning of our society. The story of the hospital housekeeper, who saw her role as helping people get better exemplifies the importance of recognizing the higher purpose in all forms of work, even if our economic model devalues certain types.

These challenges also force us to confront the morality of valuing corporate profits over individual livelihoods. The recent incident involving the United Healthcare CEO, while details are still emerging, brings to light the growing tension surrounding work that is perceived as exploitative rather than contributive to society's wellbeing.

Our culture stands at a crossroads whether or not we realize it. Millions of Americans have fallen for the new administration's claim to support the average worker; however, the reality will be far different.

With the rise of AI’s ability to replace many, many jobs, we need a profound reassessment of what constitutes meaningful work and the importance of the social contract, before it is too late.

President Franklin Roosevelt got America out of a depression and put people back to work with good jobs, fair pay, and old age protections. Shortly before he died, he offered a model for universal healthcare. In the age of AI, we must fulfill that vision and strive to create a working world that values human dignity, supports individual growth, and recognizes the interconnectedness of all forms of labor in sustaining a thriving society. Even the most mundane of jobs, positions that AI will easily fill, will need some protections for workers who only want or can do such positions.

One of the biggest steps toward modernizing work is to break the tie between employment and access to healthcare. Universal healthcare will allow people to focus on working to live instead of living to work. Those who got on their work path too early, who want a different job or received a better calling later in life, will have the ability to make that change without the worry of losing healthcare.

Don’t believe any efforts at work reform without addressing this core issue.

Until we embrace these more holistic views for an advanced nation, we will continue to be led by the debunked belief that making money is the ultimate arbitrator of human advancement. We will continue to thrust people prematurely into unsuitable roles.

As wealthy donors and the rollout of AI prepare to reshape the workforce, Americans must renew the social contract that prioritizes human wellbeing, or risk a future where the pursuit of happiness becomes a luxury reserved for the few.

• Ryan Holiday says this is one of the best documentaries, and it’s got that feel of a good December watch.

• It’s wild, violent, and not for under 17 (IMO), but Arcane is the best-animated creation I have ever seen.

• Before you buy a bunch of things for Christmas, read this long but brilliant story on getting rid of stuff.

On the way to work, I found this beautiful nest sitting on the ground. I haven’t been able to figure out what bird lost its home. Maybe a pine warbler since there were only pines in the immediate area? When you look at the construction, you realize how magnificent this project was. A bird gathered twigs and materials and built a shelter to handle the weather and protect itself from other species. It is a masterpiece. The next time you see a nest, think about the genetic programming passed down through time. Marvel at what we don’t know, and consider how well we hold sacred the little that we do know.

Stop and watch the birds.

This picture of Koreans helping lift an elected official over the wall is priceless.

Quote from Brandy X. Lee’s Newsletter: “However, this is where South Korea diverges from the United States: hundreds of protesters also gathered to scuffle with the troops. There were no major injuries, but one woman tried to pull a rifle away from one of the soldiers, while shouting: “Aren’t you embarrassed?”

I think that’s the way many of us feel about events in the United States. Utterly embarrassed at voters who put our country on this path. Democracy is still young in South Korea, which threw off militant rule in the early 1980s. They realize how far they’ve come while we’ve taken it for granted. We know that the clown car of picks for top posts will continue and there is no bottom to what we might experience. It will ultimately be up to the people to come together should the idiocy reach another threshold as it did on January 6th.

While heroes like Roberto Clemente were at the top of their sport and lived life assisting others, here are the wealthiest men in America talking about ending support for working-class America:

On X this week, Musk commented that a thread by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) attacking Social Security was “interesting.” Yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Representative Richard McCormick (R-GA) suggested: "We're gonna have to have some hard decisions. We're gonna have to bring in the Democrats to talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. There's hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved, and we know how to do it; we just have to have the stomach to take those challenges on." — reprinted from Heather Cox Richardson, December 4, 2024.

As the days go by, I look at the date and time in the laptop's corner, or the round clock on the wall with the birds for each number, or the digital clock on the oven, and I pause to look, and to listen, to this very moment.

It will never return.

Enjoy this moment, these days. The only difference in these days is that we purposely made it a time of stop and reset in our culture, whether it’s from the approaching end of the year or the imminent arrival of Christmas. Doesn’t matter where you are or the reason, take time to stop and observe and to listen.

That’s real freedom.

Be a good human.

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