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Back to 693. What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore?, with Sean Astin & Joel Waldfogel.

What Jobs Will Humans Still Do After AI?

Kevin Kelly says one of the main jobs left for humans as AI improves is being human.

People like being around other humans, and they like a human sense of humor. He expects AI to be funny in an alien way, the way someone can stand near Spock and still prefer Kirk. What he thinks stays appealing is small talk, holding someone's hand, being there, making a joke, and creating the way humans create. He would be surprised if a work touched a lot of people while humans had very little to do with it.

Asked about the AI-generated performer Tilly Norwood, he says stars of the past are easy to watch and that he wants to be around them. He does not feel that draw with Tilly Norwood.

Transcript

693. What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore? ·

Freakonomics Radio

More from this episode

  1. Will James Cameron Replace Actors With AI?Sean Astin says James Cameron will not replace actors with AI, and that Cameron does use AI tools in other parts of filmmaking.
  2. What Is the No Fakes Act?Sean Astin says the No Fakes Act would create, for the first time, an individual intellectual property right in a person's voice and likeness.
  3. How Many Creative Products Earn Back Their Cost?Joel Waldfogel says maybe 5 or 10 percent of creative products that get substantial investments earn out their advances and make more money than they cost to…
  4. Why Did the Number of E-books on Amazon Triple?Stephen Dubner reports Joel Waldfogel's finding that the number of e-books on Amazon tripled between 2022 and late 2025, and that AI accounts for essentially…
  5. Why Is Kevin Kelly Optimistic About AI?Kevin Kelly is optimistic about AI because he thinks our capacity to solve problems is larger than we think, even though the problems themselves are real.
  6. How Much Time and Carbon Does an AI Feature Film Save?Eline van der Velden says making a film with AI cuts time and cost by about 50 percent, and cuts the carbon footprint by 90 percent, compared with making the…
  7. Who Is Tilly Norwood, the AI Actress?Tilly Norwood is an AI-generated performer created by Eline van der Velden at Particle Six, Stephen Dubner says. Dubner describes a few modes.
  8. Is Tilly Norwood an Actor?Stephen Dubner reads a SAG-AFTRA statement that Tilly Norwood is not an actor.

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