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Will automation free up more time or make things worse? What if we worked even just slightly less than we do now? Watch more: “How Do We Stop The Disease That Erases Your Mind?” ►► Support the great work being done by Lifespan, the team...\n
Will automation free up more time or make things worse? What if we worked even just slightly less than we do now? Watch more: “How Do We Stop The Disease That Erases Your Mind?” ►► Support the great work being done by Lifespan, the team powering Life Noggin Script: A hard day of work can bring a lot of satisfaction, but who wouldn’t rather spend their time doing whatever they wanted… or nothing? What if no one had to work? This is just a thought experiment, but I think it’s a fun discussion! Of course, in order to have things like food, healthcare, water, plumbing, electricity, internet… and you know, everything else… work would have to get done by someone. Or by something. Technology has already begun to affect employment and will continue to do so as more and more jobs become automated through things like AI and robotics. One study estimates that 1.4 million jobs in the U.S. will be lost to automation by the year 2032. But imagine if everything was done by technology and we were left to do whatever we wanted. For this to work, things would still have to cost money in order to avoid people taking everything and leaving nothing for others., even though that kinda already happens now, but moving on, And we would have to get this money from our robot overlords… I mean our government. This is called a universal basic income and is not a new concept. Many countries, including the United States, Brazil, India, and Kenya, have experimented with doing this in some form., Their studies found that this improved health and education, while reducing crime. But the majority of these trials only included small groups of people, from a few hundred to a few thousand, with income ranging from a small percent of the average income to about $1,000 a month. In order for this to cover the living expenses of the population of an entire country, governments would have to spend a lot more money. For instance, in the U.S., while the living wage varies greatly from state to state, the median amount is $67,700 per year. For the 258.3 million adults living there, that equals $17.5 trillion each year. But, while a workless world may not be in our near future, we may at least see a small reduction in the amount of time we spend working. That’s right! The 5-day, 40-hour workweek could soon become a thing of the past. Some countries are trying out, or have even adopted, a 4-day work week, with the number of weekly hours ranging from 32 to 38–all while providing the same salary., These countries have found that working less can benefit both the employer and the employee. For instance, one study in Iceland found that working a 35 or 36 workweek led to the same or even improved productivity. Things became more streamlined–meetings that could just be emails, were just emails. And studies show that fewer working hours benefit employees’ health and well-being, such as reduced stress and exhaustion and improved sleep and family lives. It may not be a workless world we’re all dreaming of, but I’ll take a few extra hours of freedom each week! Meet the Life Noggin Team! ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Director/Voice - Pat Graziosi Executive Producer - Keith Comito Animation by Robert Grisham Written by Ashleen Knutsen Sources \n
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