AI Is Waging War on White-Collar Jobs. It Won’t End Well.

In October 1996, at the last party conference before the election that would make him UK prime minister, Tony Blair tried to define the essence of New Labour. He started off by contrasting his party with the dying Conservative government, before summarizing his three priorities for power. They were, in order, “education, education and education.” The applause was thunderous — and, unlike the applause in recent Labour gatherings, genuine.

The idea that “education is the best economic policy” was at the heart of the progressive bargain with the market. President Bill Clinton said that “the information age is, first and foremost, an education age.” The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund insisted that education is the golden key to growth and inclusion. Universities enjoyed the longest period of expansion in their history as governments tried to make sure that half their young people graduated.