According to the news, algorithms and other advanced forms of technology continue their march toward sentience and dominance of life on Earth. I haven't seen much effect in my own life, but it's possible I just don't notice things as they change slowly.
There is a movement now to start taxing robots. At least, there was an article in the New York Times about that. The argument is that robots displace workers, and the income of workers is taxed, so shifting work to robots decreases tax revenues. That means companies should be assessed a robot tax to offset some of the tax losses.
I didn't read enough of the article to get to a proposed mechanism for such taxes. I am curious about the concept, though. I don't see my future as a teacher continuing far into the future. I keep expecting advances in interactive algorithms in learning exercises, which could replace a lot of teachers. Online classes can reduce the required number of teachers now, I think. believe that because the school where I work has certain classes taught online, which I expect they would only do if it had benefit for the school, and since the school is a publicly traded for-profit school, that means cheaper costs for the expected outcomes. I taught an online class myself for a couple of years, and with adequate support, I see great potential in that approach, so I do expect online classes to continue to replace traditional lectures. Of course, we're not supposed to be using traditional lectures anymore, anyway. The current trend is toward active learning in the classroom, another idea that has great potential with proper support.
One thing I seem to see, though, is that so far both the robots and the algorithms are being made by people. It's when the robots and algorithms start reproducing, or at least expanding themselves, that we should begin to worry about their goals.
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