Did you listen to Obama’s last State of the Union Address last night? If you didn’t, you can read it here.

The president’s focus was the future. He mentioned four major questions the United States needs to answer:

First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman? And finally, how can we make our politics reflect what’s best in us, and not what’s worst?

Technology and a Gig Economy

I think it’s interesting that the first two questions focus on a new economy and technology. I could be wrong, but ‘new economy’ could refer to a shift from manufacturing toward a service-based economy. It seems that America’ politics is starting to acknowledge the impact of technology on the future of America’s workforce under this type of economy.

The scope of his speech is broad as far as economy and technology but the concerns are relevant to those of you who participates in the ‘gig economy’. If you work for a on-demand food delivery company, you participate in the gig economy.

The so-called gig-economy (also called the on-demand economy or the 1099 economy) is an economy where companies provide a platform for independent contractors to provide goods and services on-demand. Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, Postmates, are examples of such companies.

In the gig economy, more and more Americans are hopping from one short-term job (or ‘gig’) lacking traditional benefits like the rights to unionize and a 401K to the next. This rises concerns about topics on labor. These topics include unions, the minimum wage, sick leave, freelancers and the potential problems that automation poses. Thus there is a need for creating better regulations that surrounds this growing workforce.

The technology we are enjoying because of forward thinking from Silicon Valley can benefit us all but they also do create problems with worker rights, worker security, wage inequality, etc.

The Future of Work

The biggest concern I have is that some segments of the on-demand economy will create economic problems in the future as technology advances. One example is the ridesharing industry where Lyft and Uber operates. I think if too many people sign up to driver for these companies and make ride sharing their only source of income, it will become a problem in the future when advances in technology puts these drivers out of a job. Self-driving cars that are 100% electric will potentially replace the need for human drivers. In an interview, the CEO of Uber made it clear his company has intentions of going adopting this in the future.

My prediction is that the future of transportation is self-driving electric cars powered by solar that people access by a mobile app. These vehicles will be scattered all over cities waiting for someone to request a ride with their mobile devices. This will solve some problems (like traffic congestion) but will also create new ones (like eliminating jobs that requires a human to operate a vehicle).

The gig economy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and technology will keep advancing so we better figure out an answer to that question:

“How do we make technology work for us, and not against us?”