Artificial Intelligence (AI) Heralds a Post-human Era of Economic, Social and even Moral Upheavals

By Rodrigue Tremblay, 1 June 26

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have.“

Eric Schmidt (1955- ), former Google CEO, in a keynote address to University of Arizona graduates, that was booed by students, Friday, May 15, 2026.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as something more profound than electricity or fire.“

Sundar Pichai (1972- ), Chief executive officer (CEO) of Alphabet Inc. and of its subsidiary Google. (Statement made in 2018, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland).

“The development of full Artificial Intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race… it would take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded.“

Stephen Hawking (1942- 2018),British physicist, in an interview with the BBC, December 2, 2014.

“Any technology that facilitates attackswithout seeing the face of human beings lowers the moral threshold of conflict.”

Pope Leo XIV (1955- ), in his first encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ (or Magnificent Humanity), May 25, 2026.

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and of work-automation is progressing rapidly with many potential applications and benefits in many areas. It is going to define the economic future.

However, there are important risk, threats and disruptions that could result from a blind and too-rapid adoption of all the features of the new technology. Its ‘creative destruction’ could become increasingly powerful and detrimental, especially for workers, but also for writers and artists, for businesses and, finally, for the entire economy and society.

In the emerging post-human world, humanity could face unprecedented challenges in an economic context where humans are no longer the primary focus. (There is already a growing market for NEO humanoid robots to be used in a variety of ways!)

The world could see some economic sectors where humans are relegated to a secondary role and even completely sidelined. For this reason, AI brings about technological transformations, but a number of these will drastically alter living standards and influence how humans perceive work, income, and life in society.

For the present, the fast-growing robotic technology is making work more productive and more complex in many industries, which could increase economic growth. Furthermore, a surge in investment in data centers and electric power plants is also likely to stimulate economic growth.

For workers, however, AI is replacing more routine white-collar low-skill and freelance work in numerous sectors, although there are other areas where special skill work would be more AI-proof.

Therefore, the question must be raised: In this post-work world, when many jobs are disappearing because of increasing uses of AI, where will future effective demand and incomes come from to maintain living standards? Indeed, if work and earnings for many categories of workers disappear, this does not bode well for the future macro economy.

That is why governments will have to think about how to deal with the coming phenomenon of AI-driven unemployment and possibly of sub-employment, especially for young workers who may face a future of dead-end jobs. Governments will also have to establish the levels of taxation and regulation required to avoid the worst excesses.

I- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the economy

On the one hand, we are already experiencing the effects of the futuristic generative Artificial Intelligence AI technology and software engineering on the economy, in terms of a rise in business profitability for some firms and individuals and organizations.

In this brave new world of the future, important disruptions in labor markets and in the overall macro economies can be expected.

This is likely to generate important transfers of wealth between groups of people, as some segments of society get richer while others get poorer. Investors and workers in the new tech sectors will greatly benefit. However, experienced workers hit by tech-driven layoffs are going to suffer a setback in their earnings growth, while young workers entering the labor force may have fewer opportunities. indeed, studies show that young adult graduates have begun finding it more difficult to find entry-level employment.

Since 1750, there have been four industrial revolutions and technological and scientific innovations that transformed economies from predominantly agricultural and artisanal ones into increasingly urbanized and more complex advanced commercial and industrial economies.

II- Past Industrial Revolutions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
III- The first industrial revolution was difficult for workers, but the second and third ones created enough new industries to incorporate an increased workforce.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

IV- The Fourth Industrial Revolution could create permanent unemployment and underemployment………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

V- Could Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) pose a risk to humanity?

In the not-too-distant future, advances in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), such as the algorithms of Anthropic—which would be capable of equaling or even surpassing human intelligence and overriding human judgment and common sense—could pose a serious threat to humanity. This could certainly be the case, especially if these technologies were to fall into the wrong hands, both within and outside governments.

Indeed, unlike past technological advancements, from the printing press and steam engines to electricity and computers, humans have always maintained control over such innovations. This would not necessarily be the case with GAI, because decision-making with GAI could one day be autonomous, and no longer be in human hands………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Some impersonal and totally amoral AI models playing wargames can go as far as to simulate the launching of nuclear weapons on another country, when nuclear-armed countries are involved in a war standoff. This could be cause for alarm when only ‘efficiency’ outcomes are considered by such models, irrespective of any lawful and moral considerations. This could lead to human disasters and atrocities.

The mere fact that such possibilities exist should dictate a cautious approach to advanced developments in generative AI and AGI. Before we truly enter an era of human obsolescence and the domination of autonomous artificial intelligence agents, it would be wise to consider the consequences for humanity and how to manage them.

Conclusion

A new age of ‘Robber Barons is unfolding under our very eyes, where important private companies make large-scale layoffs and increasingly rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to partially offload their social responsibility to recruit, to hire and train people, while raking in large profits.

In the medium and longer run, entire categories of workers could become economically unemployable in the eyes of employers, and this will affect the entire population and the overall economy. The replacement of humans by intelligent robots in many fields of activity will be a factor of alienation for a large part of the population……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. https://rodriguetremblay100.blogspot.com/2026/06/artificial-intelligence-ai-heralds-post.html