"Wartime Homefront Essential Skills" on BrightU: How AI could spark a global food crisis
By jacobthomas // 2025-05-04
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  • In episode 8 of "Wartime Homefront Essential Skills,"  Marjory Wildcraft and Dr. Kai-Fu Lee discussed how AI is projected to eliminate 800 million jobs globally within 15–20 years, with 30-45 percent of routine jobs at risk—far faster and more disruptive than past technological shifts.
  • Wildcraft and Dr. Lee talked about historical data that shows food price spikes directly precede social unrest. MIT research confirms riots are most likely when people cannot afford food, creating a volatile mix with mass unemployment.
  • They dove into how AI will exacerbate inequality, benefiting the top one percent while leaving the bottom 50 percent struggling with job loss and unaffordable food, as corporate agriculture prioritizes profit over resilience.
  • This episode explored how homegrown, local agriculture is critical to buffer against systemic collapse. Wildcraft emphasized its nutritional and resilience benefits, while Dr. Lee suggested AI tools (e.g., frost/pest alerts) could support small-scale growers.
  • Without interventions like universal basic income, retraining programs and grassroots food networks, Wildcraft and Dr. Lee warned that AI-driven unemployment and food insecurity could trigger unrest "unseen since the Industrial Revolution."
In episode 8 of "Wartime Homefront Essential Skills," aired May 3 on Brighteon University, Marjory Wildcraft, renowned homesteading expert and founder of The Grow Network, and Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, a leading AI expert and former president of Google China, shared a chilling connection between artificial intelligence, mass unemployment and the looming specter of global food insecurity. Their conversation revealed that AI-driven job displacement—projected to eliminate 800 million jobs worldwide—could trigger unprecedented social instability, with food prices acting as the tinderbox for unrest. Dr. Lee, a pioneer in AI development, shattered the myth that technological revolutions always create more jobs than they destroy. Unlike past disruptions—steam engines, electricity and the internet—AI's impact will be swift, pervasive and unforgiving. "AI is not human intelligence, but it is an ability within one single limited domain for machines to do things that are routine—better than people," Lee explained. "When you add up all these jobs—customer service, financial analysis, agriculture, driving—we're looking at 30-45 percent of jobs displaced in the next 15-20 years." Unlike historical shifts, AI's automation doesn't require infrastructure like electrical grids—it spreads instantly via cloud computing. "A company can replace telemarketers overnight with Google Duplex," Lee warned. Wildcraft, a food sovereignty advocate, highlighted a terrifying historical pattern: Food price spikes precede riots. Citing MIT's Institute for Complex Systems, she noted: "Researchers found that the single variable predicting riots wasn't politics or injustice—it was the cost of food. When people can't feed their children, they'll douse themselves in gasoline and light a match." With corporate agriculture prioritizing profit over resilience, displaced workers face a dual crisis: no income and unaffordable food. Lee acknowledged the risk: "Wealth inequality is already explosive. AI will make it worse. The top one percent will thrive, while the bottom 50 percent struggle to eat." Wildcraft argued that decentralized food production—homegrown, hyper-local agriculture—may be the only buffer against chaos. "Food grown with love is different. It's resilient. It's nutritionally dense. And it's outside the control of corporations," she said. Lee, though a technologist, agreed: "During my cancer battle, I realized work isn't life. Growing food is meaningful, reduces stress and ensures you can eat." He even suggested AI could aid small-scale growers—"Imagine a tool that alerts you to frost or identifies pests." The interview ended with a dire plea: without systemic change—universal basic income, retraining programs and grassroots food networks—the AI revolution could ignite unrest "unseen since the Industrial Revolution." "History shows us: starvation breeds revolution," Wildcraft said. "If we don't act now, the streets will burn—not over ideology, but over bread." AI isn't just coming for your job—it's coming for your dinner. And the time to plant your survival garden is today.

Want to learn more?

When the world gets unpredictable, the smartest move is to prepare. That's why "Wartime Homefront Essential Skills" by Marjory Wildcraft is back on BrightU. This is your second chance to catch the series that's changing how families think about self-reliance. If you want to learn at your own pace and get access to 12 additional bonuses, you can purchase the Wartime Homefront Essential Skills Bundle here. Upon purchase, you will get unlimited access to all 10 "Wartime Homefront Essential Skills" videos and 12 bonuses, including 10 eBook guides and two homesteading videos. Sources include: BrighteonUniversity.com 1 BrightU.com BrighteonUniversity.com 2
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