Why AI Means That Kindergarten Teachers Will Make More Than College Professors

Fordism made previously expensive products affordable. The price of the Model T fell from $850 to $260 in 15 years.

What used to be so expensive that only a fraction of the population could afford it became so cheap that almost everyone could afford it.

AI will have the same dynamic for knowledge work. It is going to make previously costly services affordable for everyone.

Right now, only companies can afford to create custom software, to create apps that they use internally or sell to the outside world. Within a decade, anyone can afford to create custom software for their own use, to solve their own problems. The first trillionaire may well be the guy who offers the best interface for such app generation that makes it seem as natural as speech.

You'll hear more about embodied cognition with AI, knowledge that isn't easily transferred to disembodied cognition like AI. This will transform sectors like education.

Within a generation, kindergarten teachers will make more than college professors. Why? Dealing with 24 kindergarten students involves so much in the moment, embodied cognition, perception and response in ways that AI will take decades to catch up with. By contrast, the work of a college prof to create multimedia lectures to illustrate particular lessons is something AI will do within minutes, able even to customize follow on lessons after quizzes reveal what is and what is not being learned in the first iteration. Within a decade, AI will teach students more effectively than professors at podiums. Right now, the older your student the more you are paid; within a generation that will be reversed.