If you worry that robots will render human workers obsolete, the coronavirus pandemic offers ample reason to worry more.

But there’s an upside to this crisis: It’s an opportunity to negotiate better terms with our new AI overlords https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

The pandemic has brutally divided workers into two classes:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="1️⃣" title="Keycap digit one" aria-label="Emoji: Keycap digit one">Those whose employers protect them from the virus
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="2️⃣" title="Keycap digit two" aria-label="Emoji: Keycap digit two">Those who lose their jobs or unemployment insurance if they refuse to work in dangerous conditions https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

Take meat processing plants, for example, where hundreds of workers are getting sick.

If they can’t reopen safely and profitably with humans, they can and should with robots https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

Until now, one of the biggest obstacles was the transition cost of going from badly paid humans to machines.

But if companies disrupt that workflow by shutting down production to save lives, then they’ll have paid much of the cost already https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

People may welcome the brave new world, especially if it’s more hygienic to let robots and algorithms:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🛒" title="Shopping cart" aria-label="Emoji: Shopping cart">Take payment for groceries
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤖" title="Robot face" aria-label="Emoji: Robot face">Vacuum floors
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📦" title="Package" aria-label="Emoji: Package">Deliver purchases
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚗" title="Automobile" aria-label="Emoji: Automobile">Drive and clean cars https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

Accepting this transformation means subjecting ourselves to the tech giants who make the algorithms. They’ll:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Hold all the data
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Control the supply chain
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Have direct power over consumer and political behavior https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

But a lot of people seem to be ok with that.

Surveys suggest people trust the tech companies more than the federal government https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

The main question is what then happens to the enormous jobless underclass created by an accelerated shift to automation.

The sheer magnitude of the current crisis may help them https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

When so many people are suddenly and violently thrown out of work at the same time, it creates a sense of solidarity.

They’ll be more likely to claim a political voice, because they’ll feel entitled to one https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

Real change looks newly possible in light of the unprecedented measures the government has already taken to combat the crisis.

Congress conjured trillions of dollars to bail out mostly businesses. It could do the same for people https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...

In sum, this crisis brings with it an opening for collective action.

If the winners of the AI revolution want to avoid the business disruption of an actual revolution, they should be prepared to negotiate a new and very different deal https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz ">https://bloom.bg/2LeMXZz&q...