The next great American job is one that robots and AI can’t do

“What are our kids going to do?”

As both the parent of newly graduated elementary and middle school students, and as a VC who invests in the technologies that could take away future jobs from our kids, I get this question a lot.

Sometimes I say that AI will free our kids to find vocations as opposed to paychecks. Recently, amidst the criticism of the semiconductor deals, I’d sometimes argue for the merits of these on-shored jobs. Being part of building a next-gen semiconductor fab is nothing to be ashamed of.

Having immigrated from Taiwan, I have had the luxury of being an American passport holder for almost 40 years. I work with American colleagues, invest in American companies, and am raising American kids. So when I say we, as Americans, seem to want our cake and to eat it too, it is without judgment.

The fears we have over our children’s prospects are a problem of our own creation. We don’t want inflation, but we want access to inexpensive goods. Some of us don’t want these inexpensive goods to come from overseas markets like China, but neither do we want Chinese and Taiwanese factories built inside the U.S., as these won’t create “American jobs.” 

I understand this position. But also, having seen what’s happening on the technological “front lines,” I have to issue a warning. The market will find a way to give us Americans everything we want. Right now, the obvious route is through automation. The robots are coming for the jobs Americans don’t want.

The optimist in me says that these new technologies will help American workers get better jobs. Jobs where we’ll work less and get paid more. Perhaps our kids will look back on this time of history and be shocked at our 40-plus hour weeks, or the multiple jobs needed for many American families to make ends meet. It could seem brutal compared to the 4-hour work day they might have.

But that depends on how well our elected leaders handle this moment. Transition management will determine how peaceful and prosperous this American automation movement becomes. Ignore the transition, and the wheels will fall off the economy and lead to mass unemployment and social unrest. Regulate it with too heavy a hand and Americans will be relegated to working the same jobs we’ve always had while the rest of the world gets to experience the magic of machine/AI labor.

This crisis isn’t a foregone conclusion. I genuinely believe every American citizen will have a job if they want it, as long as they’re willing to be a teacher. Sometimes, that job will require them to teach robots; but more often, it will involve them translating or delivering to another human the tough, confusing, and insensitive AI message. Anyone with these two skills — teaching and translating — will have job security, no matter what field they are in today.

For blue collar jobs, it’s no longer just about how efficiently you personally can work in a warehouse, or how easily you can teach a new hire. It’s about how well you can train, manage and troubleshoot a robotics system so you don’t have to do all the work yourself. These workers will become robot managers, a job that could even be done from home. Remote working will finally be available to everyone, not just “knowledge workers.”

White collar workers will benefit, too — if they can pivot. I recently visited my alma mater, the Wharton School, at The University of Pennsylvania. They have already launched both an undergraduate concentration and MBA major in AI. They are doing what they can now to mitigate this future crisis — building up the right kind of supply to answer the demand for AI-related skills and expertise. 

While every job will be disrupted by robotics/AI, most will turn into hybrid roles where you, the human, are both the “AI trainer” and “AI messenger.” Which really makes all of us teachers — a confident expert we trust.

So when my kids ask me what they should do when they grow up, or when other parents ask me what their kids should study for career security, I will say this: It is less about the title, and more about how to prepare to engage with these new technologies no matter what.

How can they bring humanity into a digital, automated, robotic world? How can they use these technologies to provide a service or do a job they enjoy? What skills do they need to learn now so they can be both the translator for what they create with the machines and the reassuring teacher for the humans that will experience the end result? 

There will always be value in dealing with a human being — especially a human being who embraces AI and becomes its (and our) teacher. That is the next great American job.

Andy Tang is a venture capitalist and partner at Draper Associates.