Is technological progress & adoption the enemy of employment?

A study of World History shows that Human progress across centuries has been a witness to great disparity of income and wealth between the Upper Class and the Lower Class of citizens (with different strata of people in each class).

Before the Industrial Revolution, the disparities of Income and Wealth appear to be very high.  This is the reason why all old Empires collapsed because the common people who were ruled over were the victims of high levels of taxation, and Empire building brought in its share of inflation.  Inflation and Taxation became a deadly combination.  There was the Class that Ruled and the Class that was Ruled.

It was the start of the Industrial Revolution that brought in the concept of worker rights, minimum wages, trade union power, labour benefit legislation and laid the foundation of vibrant democracies (with political parties speaking for the under-privileged, the have-nots).  One stream of political thought was Conservative and more inclined towards Capitalism (with its focus on profit maximisation), and the other stream was more inclined towards Unionism (focus being Employees’ welfare).

We had the issue of alternating governments and how the excesses of one philosophy gave wind to the other philosophy to prevail and win the electoral battles.

However, while the Industrial Revolution did diminish the wealth disparities between the Highest and the Lowest in some countries, the ruling establishment saw that their wealth and progress were dependent on having the availability of raw material resources and a market for the output that they were churning out from their industries.  Colonialism therefore got it’s oxygen from loot of colonies and as standards of living improved in the host ruling country, the colonies were looted and matters began to decline in the people who were ruled in the colonies – their way of life, the food they grew, the pricing of agriculture products, what could be produced within, were all determined by external powers.

There is a lot of explanation and justification that comes from the once colonial powers on how their Rule benefited the colonies by Education, the Rule of uniform Common Law, ethe stablishment of a Judiciary and how Justice was made available to all.  How the colonies got their multiple professions like doctors, teachers, lawyers, accountants, nurses, industrial workers, clerks, factory managers, soldiers, etc.  However, there is no doubt that the colonies were exploited and the wealth was left in those nations and allowed the people of the countries with colonies to prosper.  This prosperity was not noticeable to the same extent in the Nation that was ruled.  The lowered Income and wealth disparity of the Colonial Nation came at the cost of loot and perhaps a higher Income and wealth disparity of the colonies.

After nations became independent, they largely followed the Industrial Age model of development.  There was one major difference. Now, the source of material/minerals and the output from processing the same largely came from the same national boundary.  Input and Output from national industries was to facilitate the generation of a new middle class and the waves of industrial activity was to create support structures like education institutions, hospitals, banking and insurance, medical (pharmaceutical products and equipments), products that improved quality of life, consumer while goods, fast moving consumer products, textiles, real estate, infrastructure, etc.  

However, the World moved on into 2 parallel tracks simultaneously – technology innovations (with great developments in computers and what was called the IT sector) and the globalisation of Trade, where production efficiency became paramount.  Sadly, a dictatorial power like China was to take advantage of the concept of manufacturing efficiency and over a period of 3-4 decades became a dominant manufacturing and exports powerhouse.  With its dominance, it was able to dictate the terms of Trade and establish a geopolitical Role for itself.

The Leadership and electorate of nations across the world were beguiled by the logic of efficiency and just pricing to become consumers and stop being manufacturers.  This would lead to loss of future employment, and with loss of employment, the middle of the income population began to disappear -leading to an increase in income and wealth disparities.

As if the wave of Globalisation was not strong enough, computerisation created its own Frankenstein monster. Over decades, products and processes were introduced to improve efficiency.  The word improved efficiency had the other side of the coin being loss of employment.  Increased output needed fewer humans.  In a huge development of Artificial Intelligence, computer professionals started products and processes which would significantly reduce human requirement and employment (in a twist of ingenuity, reduce their own Role and Value!).  

We are told that millions of employment positions will become redundant, and with the focus on Consumer satisfaction and Efficiency, corporates are investing billions into AI to make humans irrelevant.  AI has become the new frontier of Nirvana, and most intellectuals and analysts are predicting great pain in the years ahead for millions of Jobs across the Globe.  In all the writings and warnings that I have read onthe  impact of AI, not one has given a solution to how the negative effects can be managed.  Humans have always thought out solutions to problems, however compounded and difficult, but this time appear to have thrown in the towel.

The new world of technology giants is having an impact much worse than Oil Giants or the earlier Automobile Giants.  The income distortions are increasing, and wealth is increasingly getting concentrated in the hands of a few.  The danger is that these disparities can lead to societal disruption and havoc, including unrest and violence.  When humans don’t see a future before them, they can make Hell of the present for everyone.

We are sitting on an explosive powder keg which can light up and blow up at any time.  Income and Wealth disparities are known to create Revolutions.  As humans, we must find a new way of equitable development and wealth distribution. Otherwise, we have very uncertain and dangerous days ahead.  

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