Episode
#192 - Amy Webb - The Future of Work, AI & Human Labor
- Podcast
- The Peter McCormack Show
- Published
- Jul 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5650
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://shows.acast.com/the-peter-mccormack-show/episodes/192-amy-webb-the-future-of-work-ai-human-labor
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Summary
Amy Webb joins me to discuss why artificial intelligence is not just another technology shift, but a civilisation-level reordering of work, power, wealth, biology and society. Amy explains why the real AI question is not simply which jobs disappear, but which people become vulnerable. We discuss thinkers vs think-nots, why human capital may stop being the main driver of productivity and wealth, how GDP and unemployment could rise together, and why the economy may thrive while having less use for human labour. We also get into China’s AI strategy, why governments are failing to plan for the transition, whether AI companies owe people for the data and knowledge they have absorbed, Amy’s idea of contribution credit, the limits of UBI, the future of synthetic biology and longevity, and why the current structures of regulation, politics and economics no longer make sense for the world we are entering. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 - The Economy May Not Need You 00:01:13 - Humanity-Scale Reordering 00:04:25 - Show Us Receipts 00:07:10 - Peter’s AI Assistant 00:08:00 - Three Years In Six Weeks 00:08:46 - AI Is Not One Technology 00:12:00 - Self-Improving Technology 00:13:30 - Thinkers And Think-Nots 00:16:44 - How To Become A Thinker 00:21:23 - Failed Transition Planning 00:23:58 - China’s AI Strategy 00:28:31 - What Happens Without Labour? 00:30:56 - Lights Out Industrialism 00:33:47 - AI Collapsing The Pyramid 00:35:12 - We Are Gen T 00:41:39 - Contribution Credit 00:52:43 - Should AI Be Regulated? 00:58:52 - What Futurists Actually Do 01:03:54 - AI And Biology 01:30:16 - Regulation Can’t Keep Up - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -…