I don’t know a ton about AI and automation, except it does seem like the absolute wrong time to be introducing this stuff at-scale, given that most people are living paycheck-to-paycheck and worried about their jobs and groceries. The tech titans will always claim “aggregate job creation!” and “hyper-charge human existence!” but not everyone will feel that. A lot of people have their income, their pension/retirement, some investments, and their house — and that’s it. And a lot of people don’t have that. If you want to understand the rise of Trump or general nationalism or anything else, consider job losses, addiction, “despair,” etc. When you feel like you’ve got nothing and the system is screwing you royally, you will listen to literally anyone who is preaching a return to something you understand.
That’s a long intro into this profile of James Manyika, who is the Google AI dude these days. I believe his title is “Head Of Tech And Society.” Wow.
Manyika has all the bonafides of a tech bro, minus his race (he’s African-American). He grew up in…
