New massive "useless class" to emerge: Yuval Harari

Yuval Harari is a philosopher, writer and public intellectual. In 2018 and 2020 he has spoken at the World Economic Forum meetings. He is, simply put, a big deal - a highly influential public figure, a man who has the ear of some of the world's most powerful movers and shakers.

Recently he has stated his belief that as artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become more and more advanced we will see more and more jobs being taken over by "smart" robots and human participation in the economy as well as societal management will decrease, and decrease significantly, leading to the emergence of what he terms the "useless class".

I have read Mr Harari's biography and by the looks of it he has never, at least not for any extended period of time, been involved in production of any good, or provision of any service, directly needed for human survival. He has never held a job at a pizza shop, on a farm, on a production floor, behind the wheel of a truck, never held a job as an engineer - in short, if he were never to be born, none of the essential processes necessary for the physical functioning of society would be affected. In light of that, when it comes to the "useless class" he may know what he is talking about - at least, you may say, he may be talking about the class of which he is a member. So yes, the irony is quite rich here.

But all irony aside, Mr Harari's perspective may to some degree be a window into the thought process of the elite operating in and around the WEF. And since depopulation - and mass culling - is a next logical step from Mr Harari's statements - the danger of this type of perspective amongst the elites can not be underestimated.