The study ‘Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030’ considers the impact of Artificial intelligence (AI) in the demand for skills and abilities in the job market. The study suggests that “the demand for some types of skills and abilities will likely drop significantly, negatively affecting the employment levels and wages of people with those skills” (pg. 47). However, the study also suggests that “the ultimate effects on income levels and distribution … depend substantially on … decisions by individuals to invest in learning new skills and seeking new types of work and income opportunities”. (pg. 47). While the study accurately describes the uneven effects AI may have on low (or specific) skilled workers, it is not correct in its assessment that these low (or specific) skilled workers will be able to find new jobs by the adoption of new skills.
As the study describes AI is likely to reinvent the transportation industry with new technologies such as self driving cars, putting millions of people out of a job. One of the most popular professions in most states is truck driving (with an estimated total of 3.5 million people professionally driving trucks in the United States, according to the American Truckers Association). If the study is accurate in its suggestion that self driving cars will be widely adopted by 2020 (pg. 20), this gives 3.5 million people roughly less than 3 years to find a new skill that will  not be replaced by AI. This is also just considering truck drivers and not other jobs related to transportation and also discussed in the study. (One can also consider retail and its shift towards automated  AI to serve its costumers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics retail salesperson is the most popular job in the United States with little under 4.5 million people. Only accounting retail salespersons and truck drivers we have roughly 8 million people who will be out of a job).
Workers who lose their job will not be able to find another one. The study suggests that these people whose skills have been made obsolete can learn new skills, and move on to jobs that will be created or not affected by AI. Nevertheless, it is likely that most low skilled jobs will be replaced by AI, and so those individuals will have to obtain a higher education to get the needed skills. According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2017 20.4 million students are expected to attend American Universities. This shows that the individuals seeking a higher education after being replaced would be more than one fourth the total current students in Universities and it is unlikely universities will be able to accommodate this many people. One may argue that one can learn a new skill like coding through the internet. While this may be true, the skills obtainable through this method may not be marketable, as those with degrees from higher education would hold a more appealing look to the small job market.
In conclusion the study adequately suggests that the job market will be unevenly affected by the introduction of AI systems. However, it fails to take into account the existence of issues that are involved in an incredibly large number of individuals looking for new skills only obtainable in higher education. While, it is true (as the study goes on to say pg. 47) that government policies will have a large impact on this, it is hard to see how government policies will side with lower skilled workers instead of big companies which seek to increase their profit.