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Mike Rowe Says Blue-Collar Workers Shouldn’t Worry About Rise In AI Tech

Photo from Mike Rowe’s Instagram

Mike Rowe Says Blue-Collar Workers Shouldn’t Worry About Rise In AI Tech

By Movieguide® Contributor

DIRTY JOBS star Mike Rowe says blue-collar workers have nothing to fear from the rise of AI, or “artificial intelligence.”

AI has become more and more advanced over the years, and many are worried it will dominate industries and replace human workers. 

According to Rowe, those with “dirty” jobs don’t have anything to worry about. 

“People used to say that the robots are going to destroy skilled labor. Well, not really,” Rowe said during an appearance on Fox’s THE BIG MONEY SHOW. “I haven’t seen any plumbing robots. I haven’t seen any electrician robots. And I don’t think we’re going to see any artificial intelligence in the skilled trades to that degree. You can’t stop it. All you can do is decide to freak out completely or not.”

Experts agree with Rowe. A Goldman Sachs report predicted that 300 million jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI, but jobs that require manual labor or work outside will not be majorly impacted. 

Rowe frequently talks about the importance of blue-collar jobs and skilled labor. Movieguide® previously reported:

Mike Rowe recently talked about alternatives to a four-year degree as tuition prices continue to skyrocket and fears of a recession loom. 

“Here we sit, we’ve got eleven-and-a-half million open jobs, most of which don’t require a four-year degree. We’ve got $1.7 trillion of student loans outstanding that we’re being asked to pick up the slack for and we’ve got a generation of kids who are simply not trained for the opportunity that exist,” Rowe said.

“At my little foundation, mikeroweWORKS, for the last fifteen years we’re been talking about this. And I’m telling you, I’ve never seen the headlines catch up to us as the way they are right now. The word has gotten out and people are really taking a hard look at learning a skill that’s in demand,” he continued. 

Rowe believes that the current generation of teens and young adults has been taught to only value jobs that require a college education. They don’t see vocational school or trade school as viable careers paths and the jobs that these programs lead to are seeing the largest numbers of employment opportunities. 

Rowe points out that the most expensive path is the one that is sold to everyone as they grow up, something that he is working hard to change. The mikeroweWORKS foundation was started in 2008 as a resource to support those that are seeking careers outside of the traditional college path. 

“Our scholarship program is based on work ethic,” he said. “We just finished this program, we gave away a million bucks, we’re gonna do it again in six months. But we do it in a really specific way. These aren’t scholarships for people who want to go get a four-year degree. They are scholarships for people who want to learn a skill that’s in demand. We’ve helped about 1,700 kids so far,” Rowe said.