In 1948, Norbert Wiener, considered the father of the cybernetics, already warned of the conflict between technology and employment, suggesting to indemnify the citizens. Recently, Paul Mason said that in 30 years "between 40 and 50% of the work will disappear and will be automated, especially in commerce and office work." Other reports reflect similar figures. Throughout the world today the work is being automated and much of which can not be automated leads to countries with less demanding labor or environmental regulation or where labor and taxes are cheaper.
Machines in general increase productivity in all sectors, and inevitably, jobs are lost. If we continue like this, we will live in a society in which we have to work little, but in which misery and unemployment will undermine the quality of life and peaceful coexistence. Will we be able to adapt to achieve the advantages and avoid the inconveniences of automation?
Computing applies to everything, but it destroys more jobs than it creates
The agricultural mechanization ended many jobs in the field, but created many others in the cities. However, currently it is assumed that only robots will destroy 3.5 jobs for each that they create.
Hundreds of professionals see every day how their work is done by robots or Internet companies with very few computers and employees. Examples of this are travel agencies or publishers replaced by simple webs or apps, bank employees or machine operators replaced by programs (bots), or industrial workers replaced in all sectors, such as masonry robots (which put more than twice the number of bricks for Hour than the best mason). Jobs are also lost due to programmed obsolescence and lower prices, due in part to automation (such as watchmakers, shoemakers or appliance repairers).
Another example: if teachers publish videos of their classes on the Internet, students can take the subjects from their homes, repeating the video as many times as they want. Thus, they could go to the study center only for practical classes (or just to socialize and play, in the case of the smallest). Until the doubts could be solved by chat or videoconference. In addition to a simple video, other computer devices can be used to better capture student's attention (programs with animations, documentaries, exercises or games). On the other hand, these changes would mean that with fewer teachers a larger number of students could be served.
The most extreme advance is not in the machines (hardware), but in the software, using techniques of artificial intelligence: expert systems, facial or voice recognition, or self-driven cars
The most extreme advance, in fact, is not in the machines (hardware), but in the software, using artificial intelligence techniques: expert systems, facial or voice recognition, auto-driven cars ... The "Artificial Intelligence" oxymoron includes a Set of techniques that mimic human behavior. It is not properly intelligence, but it seems so and in many cases works better than human intelligence. This is due, among other factors, to the great memory and speed of calculation of electronic processors and also to an objectivity that humans sometimes lack. There are even techniques in which the goal is not to tell the machine what to do, but to let it find out and learn by itself (machine learning). Although there is much to be done, the advances in this matter are spectacular (decision making in medicine or economics, understanding of texts ... and many more).
Options to avoid the worst
If we do nothing, automation can benefit society, but even so, many will lose their jobs, with all that implies. If we agree that an unequal society does not benefit the majority and is a source of injustice, then something has to be done. Authors like Keynes, McAfee or Meyer have made proposals in this sense:
1. Encourage part-time work to better allocate existing employment.
2. Reduce the working day, for example, to four days a week to compensate for the reduction in available work.
3. Establish a Universal Basic Income (even very basic) that complements the wages (low for working few hours or null). Soon it will be tried in Barcelona and other European cities.
4. Treating computers and robots as employees of companies and paying taxes (ie, it is not so profitable to use machines at the cost of laying off employees).
5. Make the State "employer of last resort" to avoid long-term unemployed.
6. Give value to now unpaid tasks, such as volunteering, childcare or elder care, etc. These activities could be paid with some kind of benefit.
7. Avoid relocation and abuse of multinationals in rich countries by demanding the same legal and ethical behavior in all the countries in which they act (respecting environmental and occupational safety laws as if they were in their own country).
8. Evaluate the impact of each technology, because it is clear that we will not give up all technological advances, but we should not assume all, since some have very considerable impacts.
The value of the human being
That technology destroys jobs, he remembered even Pope Francisco. Perhaps, if we reduce the number of hours that a human can work, then human labor would be more valuable, as Bertrand De Jouvenel suggested.
No one should complain that machines work, if they do better, cheaper, without tiring and available at any time, but we have to establish mechanisms for these benefits to generate benefits for all and allow us a more equitable society.
Technology puts a lot of power in our hands, and that means a lot of responsibility, but ... are we being responsible enough? Are we even responsible for ethically getting the materials with which we build our machines? (Think of the coltan, for example).
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