It was a lively discussion with a kid heading off to college. About jobs in a future expected to be weird because of AI. The discussion was not about birds. But, before it was over, Cattle Egrets made an appearance.
We’d seen Cattle Egrets plenty, mostly on road trips through farmlands. We like ‘em fine, but they’re not birds that give you a jolt. Like a Painted Bunting might, or a Pileated Woodpecker. They’re not as exciting as eagles or as ghoulishly interesting as Black Vultures crowding a roadkill.
They’re just…egrets. Not too different from other kinds. But why did they fly into our discussion? We imagined the future of the kid, and all our futures. There were Cattle Egrets in it.
Talk turned to a shrinking job market due to AI doing indoor work humans might not have in the future. We came to the mind-blowing suggestion that a kid should NOT study academic stuff…but farming!
Farming at first glance seems way too old-fashioned, but it might have promise. Sure robotic buddies will help somewhat, but humans will still be dealing with crops, planting and harvests. By their side we imagined healthy numbers of healthy Cattle Egrets.
These birds spread around the world within the last 200 years or so. They started in ideal African territory (following big ungulates, to eat bugs stirred up), and expanded. They’re everywhere now, even in Hawaii. (“Avian Intelligence,” our version of “AI” cannot be denied).
In the future there might be fewer conventional jobs for humans, but there will be agriculture. That’s a surprise category for a college kid to consider. But it has its benefits. Like Cattle Egrets.
