Perhaps this is somewhat a more sophisticated economic topic, but I feel it is well overdue. Because people are so used to being an employee and having somebody else provide a job for them it has perverted our way of looking at technology and growth. We look at things from a selfish, fearful position rather than a creative, exploratory position.
For instance, when we first heard about the industrial age and machines coming about everyone panicked. What, machines?!? These machines are going to replace my job! This is terrible! I am no longer going to have a job!
This was the view held by most people and is an entirely selfish and elementary view. Most people forget that it's a good thing if technology is doing a rote job. We SHOULDN'T be doing these mindless, stupid jobs that a machine can be doing. The problem is, we are so mindless and stupid that we have nothing else to offer outside of this mindless work. People are so used to working for a living that when they no longer have to because a machine can do it for them they freak out. What I'm trying to get at is this: People aren't smart enough to take care of themselves, or at least choose not to, and when something comes and takes away their current means of living/finance (their job) they freak out. They associate their job with living and taking care of themselves. They think without a job they are doomed and when a machine replaces their job they are screwed. This is 100% backwards! It's hard to explain but lemme try.
Look at the big picture. Let's take a step back and see just what it is people really need to live a fulfilling and purposeful life. We need food, friends, people, shelter and a few other things, but these basically cover them. So the goal of humanity should not be to have somebody else provide you with a "job" so that you can get these essential items... it should be to provide for these essential items WITHOUT needing a job. If you can get these things with technology and no job, why then would you ever be pissed about losing your job?
Perhaps this will clear it up a bit. What if technology was able to provide food, shelter and these material types of things for us? What if we no longer had to have jobs for these types of things? Well then, all we would do is spend our time with friends and loved ones. We would be able to spend our time enriching our lives rather than being slaves for food and other essentials. I am trying to explain a new way of thinking that so few people are prepared to handle. It can not possibly be a bad thing when technology replaces people from their jobs. Technology takes care of the tasks we shouldn't want to do and allows us to pursue the creative, emotional, personal tasks that we SHOULD want to do. We are creative, individual beings. We should WANT to be these things and let technology do the other stuff.
Thousands of years ago people didn't have the luxury of technology. They had to till the soil, milk the cows, plant the crops and do all these other rote tasks that have since been replaced by machines. We don't need to do this crap anymore. And it is incorrect to tie a job into these types of things. A loss of a job to technology is a NATURAL part of the economy and should be embraced when it happens, not feared. Sure, for the short term you may not have income and may need to grow a bit, but that's the point! Humans ARE NOT supposed to be put in the position of machines. Machines are to serve humans.
This same concept goes with so many different things. It goes with engines taking over agriculture. It goes with robots taking over manufacturing. It goes with computers taking over processing. The list goes on and on. Technology is a tool and becoming upset when a tool renders one's job useless is actually a confirmation that perhaps that person is not much more than a tool to society. Perhaps it is time to become more valuable than a computer and actually do something a computer can't.
I don't know. It really is hard to explain my main point in this post but I hope I at least shed some light on it. That is all.
1 Comment
I remember back in my freshman year of college in an introduction to robotics class for engineering (changed majors later on) the professor explained that robots and machines would soon replace people in the workplace. He made it sound as if there would be hardly any jobs left for humans, or at least in the manufacturing industry. Many years have passed and that still isn't the case. Of course there are many more jobs that are done by robotics and machines but there are plenty of jobs for humans. What that professor failed to realize is that we are constantly creating new technologies and services which require people. In addition, robots and machines have to be serviced by people. I will agree that those who work in factories should seek a higher education or vocational trade to fall back on, and to broaden their skills to prepare for industry changes that we are sure to face. However, to rule out humans as a necessary counterpart in the workplace is simply ridiculous. There will always be jobs that require humans. So long as brains cannot be created humans will have their place in the workforce. Times do indeed change but we merely have to learn to adapt to those changes. The industry I work in changes rapidly, thus I learn as many skills as I can to ensure there I meet the demands that come. If people remain static and do not strive to increase their skills, they may in fact find difficulty obtaining employment some day. I recommend keeping up with technology and furthering your knowledge through education, trades, or experience. Make certain that you have something to offer to the workplace.
