The tech revolution driven by AI should terrify us all, regardless of our status or situation.

But there is one group that will bear the worst of this revolution: families – especially young ones. In fact, as innovations continue, young people will experience a pull greater than ever to put off – or avoid entirely – the formation of a family.

We are assured that the coming AI apocalypse – I mean “revolution” – will be a net benefit for humanity. Indeed, they say, outsourcing critical-thinking and creativity to robots will only eliminate boring administrative jobs, leaving everyone to be artists and CEOs – you must be a Luddite if you think otherwise! Automating every aspect of work, we are told, won’t eliminate any entry-level jobs for the new generation entering the workforce. It will just make everyone get promoted faster – in fact, new jobs will appear alongside increased automation.

Of course, this will turn out to be entirely false. Observe how humanity has already adapted – or failed to adapt – to the staggering technological advancements of the last three decades. Smartphones didn’t make us more creative, interesting, well-read, or intelligent. Instead, we have sacrificed our human agency to a handheld device. To paraphrase Elon Musk’s gleeful pronouncement, we are all cyborgs now.

How will this affect our lives going forward?

Our children and grandchildren will bear the worst of it. The entry-level jobs that earn them extra money for college classes, dates, business start-ups, or travel dreams will be the first victims of automation. Retail cashiers are already being replaced by automated self-checkouts, fast-food employees by touch-screen kiosks, and coders, copywriters, and bookkeepers by AI. The CEO jobs held by the generations ahead of them are safe, at least for now, but young adults today are likely the last to enjoy these sorts of jobs. Instead, today’s young employees had better hope that they’re related to a senior employee or can outsmart a sophisticated cyborg if they hope to snag any well-paying position.

And let’s not forget that today’s children will grow up in a world where technology is the status quo. Possession of a smartphone is already a social passport nowadays. The toddlers and babies of today risk being deprived of opportunities for creative learning and imagination as they grow more enslaved to technology, and less able to wrest themselves away from it if they even want to. In this context, it is easy to dismiss the idea of even bringing children into such a world. One could barely hope to give them a childhood of creativity and wonder, much less hope that they could make a decent living via dignified work as adults.

Then, consider the issue of automotive automation. The rise of electric vehicles and self-driving cars not only destroys a massive field of potential employment for families in truck driving, but it may also eliminate the cheap but reliable used car market that so many young families rely upon. Newer cars are all about the technological bells, whistles, and “luxury” of their ride. Yet will such technology last until another owner buys the car 10 or 12 years later? That second rung of consumers are often young families with toddlers and babies who can’t afford a brand-new, flashy car.

I don’t say any of this to discourage bearing children or to preach despair. Despite the negative tone of this piece, I think there is still cause for hope.

The thing is, people will still have children because the natural urge to procreate won’t ever totally die. As the reasons above demonstrate, those who have children will be less likely to benefit from the technological revolution. The bright side, however, is that children born in the next 100 years will have learned the hard way that more technology is not always necessarily better. While things may get much worse before they get better, my hope is that the spiraling will only go so far.

Beyond that, we should keep having children because in a world of negative social media and rising depression, we need the joy of family more than ever.

Parents have a unique ability and responsibility to raise their children differently from the rest of society. It’s okay to prohibit phone usage until late into your child’s teens! It’s good to eliminate AI usage in your household!

Instead of reliance on these forms of technology, encourage creativity and a do-it-yourself attitude in your children. But most of all, foster the boundless joy that results from a world where humanity is embraced for all its messiness, inefficiency, and refreshing individuality.

This article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

Image credit: Unsplash