Evening Must-Read: William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone: What Happens to Society When Robots Replace Workers?

between 1840 and 1900 [had] a compounded rate of progress of about 7% per year…. 1848… speed… 60 miles per hour. A century later… 600… a rate of progress of only about 2% per year. By contrast, progress today comes rapidly… semiconductor technology has been progressing at a 40% rate for more than 50 years. These rates of progress are embedded in the creation of intelligent machines, from robots to automobiles to drones, that will soon dominate the global economy…. We will soon be looking at hordes of citizens of zero economic value. Figuring out how to deal with the impacts of this development will be the greatest challenge facing free market economies in this century…