Andrew Yang Speech – The Impact of Technology on the US Workforce
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Andrew Yang, the first Chinese American Democratic presidential candidate, spoke on 4th Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Festival eloquently about the impact of technology on the U.S. workforce. Mr. Yang is the founder of Venture For America (VFA), which was established to recruit the nation’s top college graduates into a two-year fellowship program in which they work for an apprentice at promising startup companies in developing cities across the United States, rather than in large U.S. cities.
This experience in startups and small businesses then leads to the next generation of entrepreneurs and small businesses located in small to medium-sized cities, rather than in large urban areas. In 2015, Mr. Yang was recognized by the Obama administration as a “Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship” for his work. He has qualified for the Democratic presidential debates in June by having more than 3% support in the Emerson Poll, and more than 100,000 individual campaign donors.
Mr. Yang spoke to the disruption of the American labor market with regard to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) with adaptive technology. For example, what will be the social impact when self-driving trucks replace truck drivers, currently the most common job in the U.S.? Robots have already replaced people in manufacturing, thereby contributing to the decline of economies in the Midwest. Mr. Yang attributes the election of Trump to the spread of automation throughout the Midwest election swing states, where more than 5,000 jobs have been lost. An estimated 1,000 of those jobs were lost due to outsourcing to other countries, while the other 4,000 jobs disappeared due to automation.
Job loss and loss of income have a negative impact on society; therefore, Andrew Yang’s campaign is based on a Freedom Dividend, which translates to a universal guaranteed income for all. He cited a statistic showing that labor participation has dropped to 63% in these manufacturing areas. This has led to significant increases in disability claims and deaths, as well as more single mothers. The sons of those single mothers grow up without a male role model, which perpetuates a downward cycle. Reversing the mindset of scarcity by providing a guaranteed basic income and encouraging the development of entrepreneurs in these areas with significant jobs losses would benefit the public as a whole.
The Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Festival is a premier platform and networking opportunity for innovators from the United States and Asia. The 4th Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Festival on May 2nd 2019 will highlight the experiences of entrepreneurs in AI, Big Data and VC, explore our collective future with representatives from established companies, social entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurship and leadership in tec
hnology, and frontier technology spotlight and more…
