From Roman slaves to industrial machines and now artificial intelligence (AI) – history is repeating itself with new challenges and opportunities for workers.
The smartest workers will leverage AI rather than fight it, learning to collaborate rather than compete with it - Illustration: GUPTADEEPAK
For the first time, it is not just our hands but our brains that are competing in the job market. As AI drafts contracts, creates art, and diagnoses diseases, the question is no longer “will jobs change” but “how will we adapt.”
From looms to machines with 'minds'
Throughout history, change has been a double-edged sword. From clay tablets engraved with hieroglyphs giving way to the alphabet, to weavers seeing their work replaced by mechanized looms—each revolution has brought both progress and disruption. Now AI is writing the next chapter in this story.
Slavery in ancient Rome acted as a primitive form of automation, helping the elite build the empire and undermining the free working class. Emperor Vespasian, who refused to use new mechanical elevators for fear of losing his workers, fell victim to the “fixed employment fallacy”—the belief that there was a fixed number of jobs. Reliance on the exploitative model of labor ultimately undermined the empire.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought similar challenges on a larger scale. In the early 19th century, the Luddites broke with machines not because they feared technology but because they demanded fair wages.
But history has shown that blocking progress is futile. Instead, labor movements have emerged, pushing for social reform. Ultimately, technology has created new jobs, raising living standards for all classes.
These revolutions teach us that instead of resisting progress, humans need to adapt and shape how technology is deployed.
Workers need a voice to defend their rights, and society needs policies that ensure benefits are widely distributed. Increased productivity does not necessarily lead to mass unemployment; it often creates new opportunities that no one could have predicted.
What makes AI different?
We are living in the age of AI, where AI is reshaping industries on an unprecedented scale. Unlike previous technological changes that largely replaced manual labor, AI is invading cognitive and creative work — writing articles, analyzing data, diagnosing diseases, and even composing music.
Jobs once thought immune to automation — lawyers, teachers and artists — are now facing competition from algorithms.
What makes AI different? First, speed. Whereas previous industrial changes took decades, AI advances can spread globally in the blink of an eye—a software update can eliminate or transform entire industries overnight.
Unlike steam engines, AI learns and improves itself, accelerating its ability to replace human tasks.
Another difference is the global scope. In previous revolutions, a technological breakthrough might impact one region before spreading slowly.
The real challenge is to ensure that the benefits of automation are distributed fairly, unlike past technological upheavals where only a few benefit while the majority suffer negative impacts.
The core question is: Will AI lead us to a more prosperous future for everyone, or will it increase inequality and leave millions behind?
If history teaches us anything, it is that we have gone through similar upheavals in the past and we have survived - Photo illustration: WAUTIER
Learn to adapt
Adaptability is a matter of survival. Just as coachmen had to learn how to repair engines when cars replaced horses, today’s workers must learn throughout their lives. Clinging to a single skill set is no longer feasible.
The smartest workers will be those who leverage AI rather than fight it, learning to collaborate with AI tools rather than compete with them. Many jobs of the future will not disappear but will evolve, requiring people to work alongside AI rather than be replaced by it.
At the same time, soft skills will become more valuable than ever. As AI automates routine tasks, qualities like communication, creativity, and ethics that set humans apart will continue to be valued. Machines can analyze data, but they lack the intuition, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking of humans. Jobs that require complex decision-making, empathy, vision, and leadership will continue to have a place.
Workers need to take an active role in shaping how AI is integrated into the workplace. Rather than resisting automation outright, the workforce can demand transparency and fairness in how AI is deployed.
This means developing social welfare networks, retraining programs, and ethical AI policies that ensure technology serves people rather than just maximizing profits.
Proactivity is key. Instead of clinging to shrinking industries, workers should look for new opportunities in areas where AI is creating jobs. The rise of AI has created a need for AI conversational engineers, robot maintenance specialists, and cybersecurity experts.
Those who embrace change and position themselves in areas of growth will be more successful than those who resist the inevitable.
Ultimately, technology is only as good as the system behind it. AI, like the steam engine or the computer before it, is a tool. The real question is: Will AI be used to empower the many or enrich the few?
If left unchecked, AI could increase inequality, concentrating wealth and opportunity in a small group. But if guided with foresight, AI could expand prosperity and redefine work in ways that benefit everyone.
The difference lies in how we respond – with fear, or with wisdom and action. If history teaches us anything, it is that we have been through similar upheavals in the past and we have survived. We can ensure that AI works for us, not to compete with or eliminate us.
3 lessons on adapting to technology
From ancient Rome to the Industrial Revolution, history teaches us three valuable lessons. First, humans cannot stop technological progress - as the Luddites demonstrated.
Second , technology ultimately often creates more jobs than it takes away, but the transition can be painful for a generation or two.
Third , the level of inequality depends on how society manages technology—policies and social movements can help ensure that technological benefits are more widely distributed.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-no-le-den-ai-vi-sao-ai-khac-biet-20250309222641927.htm
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