AI may steal your job – and your boyfriend

Plus: Black lawmakers expelled in Tennessee, R&D data and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a virtual boyfriend of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - AI: The end of [mankind](? - Guns: Rooted in [racism](? - Migrants: In [danger](? - R&D: Made in [China](? Virtually Confused Sometimes you’ll see things on the internet that really make you question reality. Are those [leaked Pentagon documents]( authentic? Is [this woman]( truly upset about a poached egg? Are Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner actually [dating](? Nobody could blame you for not knowing the answer to these questions (for the record, that lady’s poached egg rage is [definitely satire](). In the age of misinformation, it’s natural to second-guess everything we’re reading and watching. And the rise of tools like GPT-4 is only going to make us more gullible. Niall Ferguson says AI could eventually use “its power to mimic us in order to [drive us individually insane](.” Oh, joy! But before we jump to existentialist conclusions that would make Fyodor Dostoyevsky gleefully depressed, let’s take a step back to consider what, exactly, will be different about this new world. Consider college. Allison Schrager thinks undergraduates should start to look for [ways to “AI-proof” their careers]( because the technology “is coming for a future generation of jobs that had seemed safe, starting with software coding and back-office work.” In the future, ideal job candidates will be great critical thinkers with impressive interpersonal skills. This means students should mix and match their classes — a nurse taking a poetry class or a history major with a minor in marketing, for instance. Exposure to different subjects will enable them not only to keep their jobs, but to be more discerning on the internet. Another area AI is already revolutionizing is personal relationships. Over the past five or so years, Adam Minter says, shocking numbers of Chinese citizens have grown [emotionally attached to chatbot companions](. One such chatbot, Xiaoice, had more than 650 million users in 2018. That total has only increased thanks to the isolation of the Covid pandemic. “It's not just men,” Adam writes, adding that a “subculture of (virtually) infatuated young Chinese women have been known to pay actors to play their virtual boyfriends for real-life dates.” In the future, celebrity relationship rumors will be all the more confusing; a bizarre pairing like Chalamet and Jenner will be the least of it. Taylor Swift's 382th breakup album won't be about [Joe Alwyn]( — but the virtual chatbot she hired to replace him. Tennessee Tirade There’s this thing in psychology called “optimism bias.” Around [80% of us]( have at some point made decisions — many of them against all odds — that were influenced by a positive outlook on life. Today, the US woke up to another deadly mass shooting. This time, it was at a bank in [Louisville, Kentucky](. By tomorrow, plenty of Americans will go to the bank under the subconscious assumption that “it won’t happen to me.” The same logic applies whenever we go to the [grocery store](. Or sit in a [movie theater](. Or watch a [concert](. We’re told to not let fear win. Optimism is generally a good thing. But sometimes, it can cause us to dismiss events as one-offs. Consider last week’s expulsion from the Tennessee statehouse of Justin Jones and [Justin Pearson]( — two Black Democratic lawmakers who were protesting against inaction on gun violence. Maybe you think their dismissal was an abhorrent, isolated incident — it could never happen to your elected officials. But that’d be the wrong assumption. The situation in [Tennessee]( — where [two Black men were expelled]( while a [White woman]( allied to their cause was able to stay — could most certainly happen in your city. Frank Wilkinson says the “[raw racial drama](” that unfolded was “an overt and aggressive complement to the racial realities of the gun policies that spawned it.” Gun-toting Republicans long have let fear — not optimism — drive their arguments, writes Frank. Arm the teachers … guns should be everywhere … for everybody. And all that fear is driving a legislative agenda that will further perpetuate the violence and overt displays of racism. Fear is a dangerous thing. But optimism — and complacency — can be deadly, too. Telltale Charts A growing number of migrants are choosing to leave their home countries to escape the combination of authoritarianism and repression — and leave the hunger and violence that come with it. It’s a perilous journey that too often ends in death. Eduardo Porter says [Joe Biden’s migrant policies provide “little but hostility]( or, at best, indifference to migrants fleeing across the hemisphere for their lives and dignity.” In the past year, Chinese companies have spent [a boatload of cash on research and development](. Justin Fox writes it’s “a sign that perhaps they [won’t need]( that Western technology much longer.” Further Reading Worried about asteroids, volcanoes or nuclear war? You [better stay put](. — Tyler Cowen The speed at which [the climate has changed]( over the last century is beyond alarming. — Faye Flam Texas’s [plan to keep the lights on]( will cost a pretty penny. — Liam Denning DeSantis is playing [his pro-life cards]( completely wrong. — Julianna Goldman India’s tech workers are [stuck in traffic](. — Andy Muhkerjee. [China’s charms]( don’t come cheap. — Minxin Pei ICYMI The [showdown]( in the South China Sea. [Tupperware’s]( fate might be sealed. Uber’s CEO went [undercover](. Texas’s dangerous [abortion pill ruling](. Kickers [Compost]( is the new caviar. Stop [asking me]( what I do. Succession [spoiler alert](. [Wienermobile]( weddings are free. Who is behind [Barack Obama’s reading list](? (h/t Sarah Green Carmichael) Notes:  Please send compost harvested from Princess Diana's childhood home and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](