http://www.heraldinsight.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=381
Technology – a friend, not a foe
(Part 1: Rapid development and escalating fear)

Considering that technology could help reform our society as stated in Part 1, then how exactly should our future look like? As the author of Robots Will Steal Your Job, but That’s OK Federico Pistono states, it’s about the attitude we humans take.

According to Pistono, the human race currently possesses exponential growth in technology, limited resources, and infinite needs. Thus, although there are clear limitations set by nature, we are accustomed to thinking more is better and trying to fulfill meaningless material gain, which in turn, puts pressure on our environment. This idea even affects the job market. As Pistono states in his TEDxVienna talk, “We keep inventing new jobs because of this false idea that everyone has to be employed at some kind of drudgery or another.” If the world continues in this direction, not only will most people have miserable careers, but also consequences such as climate change and resource depletion will be inevitable.

People should obsess less about providing themselves with a job and being at the best financial situation possible and instead, take a step back. Now, people could do this either by completely demolishing all that has been achieved by mankind, or simply change the values we hold today and welcome the new opportunities approaching us.

Therefore, we should start preparing for; modeling a society in which technology carefully monitors our resources and takes care of our essential needs, while people enjoy a career with less stress and shorter working hours. In other words, we should treat technology as a friend that could take care of our needs, not as a foe that will steal our jobs. The idea “more is better” should gradually be taken out of place within our education systems and replaced by encouraging people to truly explore what they want, instead of what they need to do in order to feed their families.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160906000382

Such a plan may appear too optimistic at first sight. One concern that arises is about how people will lose motivation to work hard. But let’s not forget, as seen in numerous studies including a report by the Bertelsmann Foundation, it is the countries like Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden with high taxes, universal health care, and an overall a higher basic standard of living that have the highest social mobility. Just because people are provided with needs does not mean they will seize to put in the effort.

Finally, even if this seemingly optimistic plan will fail to perfectly carry out, with enough effort we will still have a better society than the one today in which most people are miserable at work. We should not fear, but look forward to and prepare for the new world approaching us this very second.
 

Byoung Joon (Daniel) Bae
Grade 12
Asia Pacific International School