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AI could create a 'Mad Max' scenario where everyone's skills are basically worthless, a top economist says
MIT economist David Autor said on the "Possible" podcast that AI may lead to a world where jobs remain but skills are devalued.
Autor warned that rapid automation could usher in what he calls a "Mad Max" scenario — a world where jobs still exist, but the skills that once generated wages become cheap and commoditized. The reference, drawn from the dystopian film series set in a post-collapse world of scarcity and inequality, captures Autor's fear that AI could concentrate wealth and power at the top while leaving most workers to fight over what's left. He pointed to roles like touch typists, factory technicians, and even taxi drivers as examples — all skilled, well-paying jobs that technology has downgraded or, in some cases, replaced.
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