AI, robotics and automation in general have been having a severe effect on society in general and on the labour market in particular for decades. In the near future, work and the worker will cease to be one of the important productive forces they are today. The time has come to ask ourselves what kind of future we want.
Technology destroys some jobs and creates others. So far, both trends have been in balance. Many jobs of the past have disappeared while new ones have been created. Bar coding energised world trade, creating millions of new jobs. Others have disappeared and, to take one of countless examples, banking jobs are shrinking rapidly.
The pace of job creation is not enough to offset the destruction generated by automation. To think that we will have millions of tech jobs is illusory. When Facebook bought Whatsapp, the company had 50 employees. Will we be able to create new jobs with such a model? The reality is that the annual hours worked in every country are constantly falling.
Technology is good and has helped to create a better world where all indicators have positive trends. Health, life expectancy, education, violence, global GDP, wealth, equality and democracy are improving, to give some of the most relevant examples.
Work is no longer what it once was. People want to work for the income it brings, but very few are fulfilled by their work. Freeing millions of people from routine or drudgery is a good thing as long as economic conditions do not worsen. Millions of people live on subsidies and universal basic income is an alternative that is gaining momentum.
Meanwhile, inequality is increasing: the owners of automation are getting richer and richer, and 1% of the world's population has as many resources as the remaining 99%. This is unacceptable, both morally and economically.
If we don't work in the future, what will we do with our lives? Some will have answers, but many will not. It is essential to consider the new educational challenges. We cannot train our young people for a world that no longer exists. To be free requires an effort and a plan. We cannot delay any longer.
Antonio Orbe
Technology expert