During last night’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a deep dive into the issue of automation and how that means some good news and some bad news when it comes to the job market. The good news, according to Oliver, is that when robots take over certain jobs, the takeover creates a whole set of new ones, but the bad news is that the people who lost their old jobs might not always be properly trained for the new ones. It’s an issue that the jobs-obsessed Donald Trump seems not to know or care about at all. “For someone who claims that he cares so much about the American worker, he’s done almost nothing to help people displaced by automation. And there is frankly plenty he could be doing,†Oliver says.
The late-night host decides to do his part near the end of the segment by talking with some kids about what they want to be when they grow up, but managing their expectations so they realistically fit in with a robot-filled future. “Well, what can I do?†one of the kids asks him. “What can you do? That is actually a good question. You can do a series of nonroutine tasks that require social intelligence, complex critical thinking, and creative problem-solving, okay? Can you repeat that back to me?â€
Come for the informative segment on automation, stay for the impressive stretch where Oliver makes up gibberish names Trump might use for over 40 countries.