Over the last 200 years, technology automation has never caused a net loss of jobs. AI is a type of technology automation. The question for this article is whether AI automation will be the first technology to result in a net loss of jobs that is bigger than the decline in the number of workers. Is AI just another form of automation that will create some jobs and destroy others? Or will AI destroy more jobs than it creates resulting in unemployment that will continually rise, and remain permanently high? Science fiction books, TV, and movies are replete with descriptions of intelligent robots ranging from beneficial robots like C3PO from the Star Wars movie series to killer robots such as the ones depicted in the Terminator movie series.

Twenty years ago, setting up a timer to record on a tape your favourite TV show using a VCR device or recording a message on your voicemail was a total success in technology automation. Even the simple task of programming a digital alarm clock to wake us up at a certain time in the morning stopped being rocket science for some of us, fulfilling an inner desire to be part of a society that was unstoppably shifting into a digital transformation. This is just a small slice of how technology automation has changed over the past 20 years, and I assume we can all acknowledge that AI is gaining momentum, albeit regulatory authorities, legislators and lawyers not being fully sure how to adapt or embrace the change that's currently happening. Artificial Intelligence is here, it's the hot topic or the popular kid everyone wants to play in the park with. AI and automation are bringing us daily benefits; Internet and Big Data are becoming an essential part of both our work and private lives and we now have the capacity to collect huge sums of information too cumbersome for a person to process.

One of our greatest challenges in today's society is responding to the impact of technology automation. Over the last decade, technology has increasingly displaced jobs resulting in a reduction of the middle class and the widening gap of income inequality. Other factors such as offshoring play a role in job loss but the impact of technology is in full steam and there is no end in sight. My concern is that our society hasn't come to appreciate the extent of the issue and doesn't have a thoughtful plan to address it. The future of the middle class depends on our ability to comprehend the changing world technology has presented, and how we respond to close the jobs gap.