Disruptive change has over many years presented many challenges in the process of the change from the old to the new. There are many examples of successful transitions but unfortunately there are many that have proven problematic.
Back in the 19th century the birth of the Luddites organisation was born as a protest movement against the introduction and use of new technology machinery in the weaving industry. The term Luddite has over time been used as a term to mean one opposed to industrialisation, automation, computerisation or new technology in general.
Back in 1900 in the US there were 12 million agricultural workers. By 2014 tractors, combine harvesters and other equipment had resulted in over 10m job losses in the sector in just over 100 years. The new mechanised equipment boosted food production and resulted in cheaper produce. The higher farming incomes financed new-fangled purchases rather than large wage bills.
Traditional thinking employed by economists was positive when it came to technological change as the loss of traditional jobs resulted in new technological jobs and higher incomes for those in the new industries producing more sophisticated products and services to meet the new market demands.
We are already on the wave of change presently as we move from a world previously driven by analogue technology to a digital world. This new technological transformation has been arguably the most disruptive change in human history. An example is a company producing taser cartridges who today produce four times as many cartridges with robots as 80 workers once did 10 years ago.
Today, most of the job growth is from low productivity industries such as building services, health care and social services and the hospitality sector. In research I’ve read the new job opportunities in lowest productivity jobs can be 10 times higher than job opportunities in the more productive industries such as aircraft manufacturing and computer systems design services.
Because of automation, we are creating two societies for those seeking employment. There is a smaller number of highly educated and in demand professionals who are paid well whilst at the other end of the spectrum is an army of less well-educated workers who are stuck in businesses where wages are kept low.
In the past, we created well-paid manufacturing jobs because of technological change but this time around the number of well-paid jobs is reduced due to the use of robots and artificial intelligence. With the cost of robots falling and artificial intelligence becoming ever more advanced the future will be very bleak for those who are under-qualified with limited educational achievements.
We are already witnessing the way disadvantaged members of societies are behaving. Across the developed world there are examples of the disadvantaged protesting on the streets and registering their protests when they are asked to vote in elections.
There is no magic wand that can be waved to sort out this situation. This time around the disruptive change is very different and needs those in positions of leadership to take full responsibility to make sure that we do not create two very different societies with a small number of those that have a good standard of living and an army of people who struggle to survive.
Gordon is the former president and chief executive of BMMI. He can be reached at gordonboyle@hotmail.com
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