Don’t be Ned Ludd.

We Are All Ned Ludd Now.

The fear of AI is quite similar to the Story of Ned Ludd. He and his friends feared the new but it turned out life just got better not worse.

In the late 18th century, in the heart of England, there lived a weaver named Ned Ludd. Ned was a skilled craftsman who took pride in his work, but he was also deeply concerned about the changes happening in the textile industry.

The introduction of machines had made it possible to produce cloth faster and cheaper than ever before. But at the same time, it also threatened the livelihoods of skilled weavers like Ned, who feared that they would be replaced by unskilled labor working with the new machines.

One night, Ned and a group of like-minded weavers, they called themselves Luddites, gathered together and decided to take action. They donned masks and marched through the streets, smashing the new machines that they saw as a threat to their way of life.

As they worked, they heard the sounds of alarm bells ringing in the distance. They knew that the authorities would soon be on their trail, but Ned and his comrades were determined to finish what they had started.

As they worked, Ned began to have second thoughts. He wondered if they were doing the right thing, and if they were really helping their cause by destroying the machines.

But then something unexpected happened. When the dust settled the weavers discovered that their actions had actually led to an unexpected outcome.

Instead of losing their jobs, they found that the machines had actually liberated them to do even better work. With the machines taking care of the repetitive and time-consuming tasks, the weavers were able to focus on the more complex and intricate aspects of their craft, producing even more beautiful and luxurious fabrics.

The factories grew and were larger and employed far more weavers doing far better jobs. The dangers and hours of toil became slowly a more agreeable job. And with the cost of production lowered, the demand for their goods increased, leading to higher wages and greater prosperity for all involved.

Ned and his fellow weavers were stunned. They had never imagined that their actions would lead to such a positive outcome. In the end, they realized that they had been fighting against progress, when they should have been embracing it. The machines liberated them.

From that day forward, Ned Ludd and his fellow Luddite weavers became unexpected champions of innovation, working alongside the machines to create even more amazing textiles. Their skills and expertise had been liberated to create a better future for themselves and their community.

We are all Ned in many ways today when it comes to AI. We are all weavers of our work. Absolutely the new machine will replace our work, but it does not have to replace ourselves. The weaving machine was a force multiplier. It did the work of 5 workers. Current AI can do the work of 7 today and in the future it will be 12 and than 47 and so on. The cost of goods and service will drop and the wages of the operators of the new machines will rise. We will all become experts in AI and there still will not be enough to supply demand. And just like during Ned’s time the transform weaver to machine operator of a weaver will be fraught with fear and fog. This is our next 20 years. Are there many real dangers ahead, yes.

This is not a utopian view nor is it dystopian. It is just the way history of all human inventions has played out. We have fog and fear, but we can also choose to bring light to the machine we fear in the dark.

Today more than any moment in your life the wisdom of Ned Ludd’s story should be in your life and taught to your children and grand grandchildren.

Don’t be Ned Ludd.