It is quite clear, at this point, that technology’s role in society and our personal lives is quite consequential. For some, it is of concern not only to the future of society, but also to peoples’ personal and professional lives. Common and valid concerns include artificial intelligences outdoing humans, or new technologies fostering lazy and unproductive lives. To truly understand how people are going to fit into society in the future, it is important to gain a historical perspective on the changing roles of humans.
Arduous labor has been a key part of peoples’ lives since the dawn of humans, and arguably more so following the Neolithic Revolution. The amount of work a farmer put into his/her field correlated with the amount of produce gained, which was crucial to their livelihood. Not only did physical labor yield the goods and products necessary for economic growth and social welfare, it contributed to the intellectual development of humans. As Yuval Noah Harrari exemplifies in his book Sapiens, rice farmers in Asia had to take into account several climatic and environmental factors while also experimenting and developing new techniques. It is also one of the reasons why Asians may typically be considered diligent and hard-working. However, following the Industrial Revolution, and especially after the popularization of the assembly line by Henry Ford, several jobs requiring physical labor have become repetitive and monotonous. Such labor stifles the growth of one’s thinking capacity, and doesn’t contribute much to one’s social life either.
Critics of technology like Susan Bennett from the NY Times debate “Is Artificial Intelligence Taking Over Our Lives?” suspect that humans might become more cognitively impaired as computers continue to make gaining information more effortless than ever. Even though it might appear that modern technology has the potential to surpass humans physically and computationally, human innovation and ingenuity is at its peak. The role of people in history has been to design, create, and implement anything ranging from groundbreaking scientific research to social institutions and policies. Technology, including machines and artificial intelligence, eliminates the need for humans to perform tedious and repetitive tasks like crunching numbers, sorting directories of data, or constructing products in an assembly line.
The growing number of startups being established and those succeeding are one of the many indications of the profusion of creativity in the market. Students now have access to more resources and professional opportunities like internships than ever. According to Richard Florida from the NY Times debate “Is Creativity Endangered?”, businesses have adapted to competition and the changing role of technology by prioritizing creativity. The modern workspace is also designed around collaboration and problem solving, which most jobs set to be replaced by automation lack. As a result, the average person will not only be able to pursue better professional opportunities but also expand their social lives.
In no way do I mean to discredit the ones performing the jobs I described as being “repetitive and monotonous”. Instead, I intend to point out the ways the individual and society as a whole can benefit from these changes. That being said, such jobs being handled by machines will benefit society by allowing for more innovation in the future. The growing networking and learning resources available on the internet as well as opportunities to pursue post-second education will only encourage more individuals to be involved in impactful jobs. Subsequently, more minds will be put behind medical advancements, scientific breakthroughs, and in improving the average person’s quality of life.
What is your take on how technology is going to change the role of people in society?
-Kevin Gomes
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