Past waves of automation did not render human labor obsolete; instead, they created additional jobs. However, with the democratization of AI—allowing virtually anyone to acquire, access, and develop AI technologies with minimal expertise and cost—could this time be different? Research indicates that more than 50 percent of jobs are at risk of displacement in this “second machine age.”

Currently, the world is divided between two perspectives:

• Technological optimists (the “business-as-usual” camp), who argue that unemployment caused by technological advancement is temporary, and
• Technological pessimists (the “AI Apocalypse Now” camp), who claim that technological unemployment is already happening, and is irreversible.

Who is right, and who is mistaken?

This policy paper examines:

1. The core arguments of the “AI Apocalypse Now” and “Business-as-Usual” camps.
2. The Luddite Fallacy and its rebuttals, focusing on the claim that the “AI Apocalypse Now” camp erroneously assumes technological advancement will inevitably lead to mass unemployment.
3. Economic and philosophical issues, including, inelastic demand, market saturation, arket monopoly and monopsonmy, historical determinism, human biases in forecasting the future of work, the prevalence of “bullshit jobs,” the rise of precarious work, and more.
4. The effectiveness of current local government proposals and plans in addressing technological unemployment.
5. The role of work ethic and the centrality of work in human society and individual lives.
6. Policy recommendations, including Universal Basic Income (UBI) and social welfare initiatives.