This is a the third chapter of a little story following the situation described in my post about AI and Jobs
Previous chapter:- The Obvious Shift
Paul and Vince are doing fairly well. Pauls AI contract expired and he and Vince are now paying £20 per month for a slightly more advanced assistant than Alice. They find that most businesses and even lots of private households are doing the same.
They both get less work, as the number of plumbers and carpenters competing has soared, but many of these are relatively unskilled, a lot having learned their “trade” from Youtube videos. But Paul and Vince have excellent reputations and reviews and so get the more expensive jobs from more wealthy customers. But both have seen their tax bills rise substantially. Unemployment rates in the country are now at around 30% although the GDP is still growing.
Alan is struggling. He spends a lot of time on protest marches and has joined a darkweb hacking group trying to find ways into the computers of wealthy companies. Sometimes for profit, but often just for the excitement. His income from Tesco and his “undeclared” activities is not enough to cover his mortgage so he now lives in a small rented flat.
Next chapter – The restructuring
