A review of Martin Ford’s The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment

Martin Ford, a futurist, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the author of three bestselling books, is an expert in artificial intelligence and robotics. His works explore the impact that advancing artificial intelligence and other technologies have on the job market, economy and society. In the Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment published in 2015, targeting economists, technocrats, policymakers, tech enthusiasts, and the global public, Martin Ford alludes to the possibility of a jobless future.

The author claims that advances in information technology particularly in the robotics industry pose a threat to the economy by making good jobs obsolete. He details that in the wake of massive job automation, a significant number of jobs are poised to be replaced by robots rendering scads of people jobless. Martin Ford argues that unregulated acceleration in information technology will eventually cause a global financial and economic crisis. His assertion is that businesses will reduce investment in human labor, employing very few people, and replacing workers with software and task dedicated robots. Consequently, a big proportion of the population will not be in a position to buy goods and services, significantly affecting consumer markets and causing a decline in business profits. Government tax revenues will also hit the skids. Continue reading...