Imagine a future in which robots will take more and more tasks from humans. What great opportunities will arise when we can free millions of people from physically challenging jobs in factories and boring tasks in back-offices. How amazing when people can get back to spending time with their loved ones, raise their children, and care for their parents.

Cars will drive themselves, no need for drivers to spend their time behind the wheel. Waste collection is automated, no need for anyone to deal with the smell. Food will be produced with precision farming using a fraction of water, fertilizers and pesticides, no need for physical labour on the field. Construction workers can limit their effort to directing the machines for road constructions, rather than having to sweat in the heat. And manufacturing plants won't need workers to conduct repetitive tasks.

At the same time prices for food, transportation, and infrastructure will be as low as never seen before. The goods we need for our everyday lives will be affordable for everyone. The poorest of us won't need two jobs anymore to get through.

Imagine a future in which we can reallocate the skills and talent of all those people.

There's two ways to describe the future. We can feel threatened by the changes that lie ahead. Indeed, they are daunting. How can we adapt our economic system in a way that allows for everyone to benefit from those opportunities? How will we deal with the transition phase in which people will lose their jobs, starting with those that will need them most urgently? How will we spend our time (or better energy) in the future, when robots can take so many things from our daily duties?

But we can also look at the great opportunities ahead. Our generation has the chance to redefine the way we work. Even with the technology available to us today we are able to address issues that were deemed unsolvable 10 years ago. Why would we let the status quo hold us back? Why would we want to stand still in the face of change?

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Please share your comments and inputs (via comment function, twitter, e-mail, etc.). In my short write-ups I address topics that I am particularly interested in because they align with my values and beliefs. As such, they are always a reflection of my ideas, thoughts, and opinions. The only thing I am positive in that regard is that I do not have all the perspectives, all the knowledge, or all the facts - help me be better tomorrow.