There are over three billion people in the global workforce. Of those jobs, it is anticipated that over 40 to 50{01332a80e2e652688e18927fa9a6162580960d47bc08263a3993439d666dcd52} percent will disappear within a few years. Either blind-sided or blinded by the allure of what technology can offer, governments and businesses have to date, showed few initiatives, to ensure the future employment of its employees and citizens. Quite the reverse.
Many sectors are financially benefiting from outsourcing of labour overseas and introducing labour saving technology. This includes not only call centre work but the wealthy professions like law and accounting. They are retrenching staff and reducing graduate intakes, as they progressively outsource work overseas and invest in employment saving technologies. The consequence is per research conducted by the World Economic forum in 2016 is:
For every professional male job that is created, three male jobs will be lost.
For every professional female job that is created, five female jobs will be lost.
Interestingly automation is rapidly overtaking the outsourcing model.
Outsourcing of American jobs to Mexico and South east Asia only lost one in five jobs.
American jobs lost to automation was a massive four in five jobs.
While some parts of society are benefiting from technology, there are many around the world who are not. There are concerns in both the advanced and developing countries that there is a potential threat to society because of the digital divide, creating “digital refugees”. This is because many people in countries rich and poor do not have access to technology or cannot afford to. Technological advances need to be available for the many not the few.
In 2015, only 22{01332a80e2e652688e18927fa9a6162580960d47bc08263a3993439d666dcd52} of adults in India had access to the Internet, per the Pew Research Centre. That ranks India far behind other large, developing countries like China and Brazil, where adult internet access rates are at 65{01332a80e2e652688e18927fa9a6162580960d47bc08263a3993439d666dcd52} and 60{01332a80e2e652688e18927fa9a6162580960d47bc08263a3993439d666dcd52} respectively.
Of the 205 million Americans who are of working age in America, 17 million do not have
access to banking facilities and 45 million are underbanked because of the cost of doing banking.
There is no economic law that says everyone is going to benefit from this revolution. There is no historical prescription that can be depended on. However, there is significant trend data that indicates that there are increasing risks to employment opportunities. This needs to be taken seriously. For example, per David Uren’s 2017 article in The Australian Newspaper.
Underemployment in Australia is at an all-time high.
1.1 million people are looking for more work than they can get.
and 740,000 remain unemployed.
There is a potential risk of ongoing unemployment for many citizens in our society. Already there is 200 million of the world’s youth that is now unemployed.
The signals and the data has been available but little action has been taken. Many are focusing on how technology can reduce employment costs and are assuming other institutions or innovation mantras, will solve potential job losses. This approach is having significant unintended consequences for the USA.
The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, found in 2016, that the United States now has the third-lowest participation rate for “prime-age men” among the world’s developed countries.
Partially because of this thinking a new class of people who lack job security and reliable earnings has evolved. It is called the pre-cariat class and they are having their voice heard at the voting boxes around the world.
It is easy to point out or ignore the potential problems, however first you must acknowledge there is a potential problem. It is not about negating the need to act based on a binary view of the world of being pessimistic or optimistic. As John McCarthy, the inventor of artificial intelligence said:
Articulating the problem is half the solution.
No individual will solve the unprecedented complexities of our time. It must be a multi stakeholder approach, including Governments, businesses, NGO’s and communities. It is no longer acceptable that businesses say that only deliver to the shareholder. There must be a new business code where all stakeholders are considered and citizens are not just referred to as consumers.
Some initiatives are being experimented with like a Universal Basic Income. This has variations; however, the principle is to provide a government subsidy to all citizens. Finland, Scotland, India, four Dutch cities, Californian in America and Ontario in Canada are progressing with trials. Google is also researching the topic through a program called the Y Generator, with the assumptions technology has the potential to create mass unemployment.
Some visionary businesses are seriously investing in education. A Californian business has initiated adopt a public-school program and GMH is financially supporting coding programs for women. Even though, in the minority, it is encouraging that responsible leaders are emerging.
Irrespective the pace of change is moving so fast, more businesses and governments must seriously consider the social implications of the technological revolution. In the last few months’ alone, advancements in artificial intelligence and computer learning are advancing more rapidly than expected.
Governments, businesses and individuals must believe they have an opportunity to shape the future. Multi stakeholders must dialogue. The decisions that are made today will create greater economic divides or alternatively shared prosperity.
It is understandable than many leaders are daunted by the unpresented complexity and the scales and connectivity of their actions. To assist, I have developed a process, guided by principles, which assists executives identify how their businesses can be financially viable while working towards an economically viable global workforce. If you are interested in this, please contact me via my website.
