America is a nation of the disposable. We treat women as a disposable means of creating children who, if they aren't victims of mass shootings, become disposable workerswho work most of their lives to create the disposable commodities that are destroying the planet. Those who are disabled, run afoul of the law for even minor transgressionsor are unable to work due to old age or illnessmay be ostracized, punished harshly or simply left to fend for themselves. As a group, the wealthy and powerful need us to make their money for them and to cater to their whims and to do this they must show us how anyone can be replaced at a moment's notice.
But humans are necessarily imperfect workers. We have needs and can get sick or injured. Moreimportant, we can fight back. Some, like Elon Musk, are seeking to transcend these limitations by transcending workers themselves. As automation displaces increasing numbers of workers, it may come to replace disposability as a threat with disposability as a permanent state rendering large swaths of the population economically useless, socially rootless and politically powerless, and thus unable to defend against our own disposal.
Musk is not the only business leader working to spread the idea that automation is beneficial, but his company, Tesla, is pushing hard to innovate in the field. Its humanoid robot, Optimus, is set to be unveiled in September. Musk claims that Optimus is meant to solve the "labor shortage" and to relieve people from doing jobs that are "unsafe, repetitive or boring." On the surface, these sound like laudable goals, and there are certainly some jobs that are so dangerous and unpleasant that automating them is desirable. But the reason automation is attractive to people like Musk is because it circumvents the human issues that workers face without paying them more, treating them better or conceding any power. Workers in the service industry those most likely to be replaced by the Optimus robot aren't burned out because their jobs are boring and repetitive so much as because they are poorly compensated, highly pressured and often treated rudely by both customers and managers. Amazon isn't having trouble finding workers because nobody wants to work, but because they are burning through those who do.
Though Musk and others like him, may frame their desire for automation as benevolent, when we consider how they treat their workers, their genuine motivations become clear. Musk and his companies have a rich history of deplorable labor relations: overworking employees, tolerating racist work environments, firing dissenting voices and whistleblowers, union bustingand putting lives at risk by defying public health orders during the pandemic. As with the deindustrialization that preceded it, however, automation threatens to further remove the ground beneath workers' feet, making not just individual employees or businesses but entire industries, and potentially work itself, obsolete and making people like Musk harder to hold to account.
Many people, perhaps understandably, would rather be in a well-defined adversarial relationship with an employer than to feel utterly cast adrift by society. But that choice may be rapidly disappearing and, in the process, driving people into the arms of the political right. Several studies show that those most under threat by automation disproportionately support right-wing populist parties. When looking at the voting behavior of workers from different countries, regions and industries, and controlling for confounding factors, automation has been shown to increase support for the radical right.
While the threat of automation may push workers toward more progressive economic policies, it also shifts them rightward on culture-war issues and voting behavior.
In the U.S., those most vulnerable to automation are more likely to support progressive economic policies, but they are nonethelessshifting rightward on cultural issues and in their voting behavior. The idea that the growing sense of precarity and meaninglessness stems from an erosion of tradition or from excessive tolerance for diversity, rather from an acceleration of economic exploitation, can be attractive to owners because it obscures their role in the crisis and redirects anger at scapegoats, and to workers because it appears to restore a sense of clarity and reorients their place in the world. The result, however, is that the real problem remains unaddressed and other marginalized groups are made more vulnerable.
How much risk automation poses to workers, which jobs are most likely to be replaced and whether new jobs will fill that void are all disputed questions. Some researchers have found that robotization negatively impacts both jobs and wages. Others argue that, over time, automation has created at least as many jobs as it has eliminated, but that these new jobs diverge significantly in terms of the training and specialization they require and how well they pay, increasing both productivity and inequality. Techno-optimists insist that everyone will benefit from this increased productivity, to one degree or another, because any job that can be automated will inevitably be replaced by a new one, perhaps yet to be imagined.
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Historian Yuval Noah Hararipoints out, however, that the longstanding pattern by which technological disruption creates new opportunities is not some inexorable law of nature. Paradoxically, while the optimists rely on the unimaginable to assure us that new kinds of jobs will be developed, they cannot seem to imagine that this pattern could be broken. Harari argues that there is no obvious reason why we cannot automate any conceivable task that a human can perform, that the optimists are overestimating people's ability to ceaselessly reinvent themselves, and that we running the risk of creating an entire class of the unemployable. According to Harari, not only would that leave many people conceivably, even most people with nothing more than idle entertainment or consumption to occupy their lives, it would centralize virtually all economic and political power. That could lead, alongside other emerging technologies, to tyranny.
Whether this worst-case scenario will come about is impossible to know at this point, but large-scale disruptions to the economy, and a growing backlash against them, are not just inevitable but are already here. Musk recognizes the potential of automation to cause impoverishment and social unrest, which is why he has endorsed a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to ensure that every adult citizen, regardless of employment status, would receive taxpayer-funded income adequate to meet their needs.
Remove workers from the political and economic equation in large numbers, and they lose virtually all leverage to reverse the concentration of wealth and power in our society.
While UBI may be necessary, it has various drawbacks. First, while the idea has appeal across the political spectrum, having been endorsed in different ways at different times bysuch figuresas Martin Luther King Jr., Milton Friedman, Robert Reich and Jeff Bezos, achieving social consensus on a sufficient payment would be difficult. A 2020 pollby the Pew Research Center found that only 45% of those surveyed supported a payment of $1,000 a month, an amount below the federal poverty line. Even beyond that question, UBI would do little or nothing to address the increasing concentration of economic and political power that have made it a necessary measure in the first place. Workers got political and economic clout in the past because they had the power to disrupt production. Take workers out of the process altogether and then, even if the government provides for their basic needs, they have lost virtually all leverage to reverse the concentration of wealth and power so that everyone can have an equitable say in our politics.
Disposability is endemic to our society as it is currently organized. While the attitudes, practices and structures that underpin it have existed since before the founding of our country and continue to the present, trickling down from the most powerful to everyone else, they can be resisted. The acceleration of automation is one more aspect of this well-established pattern, but one that threatens to accelerate it to a degree that we have never experienced. There is the potential for catastrophe, but also the potential for all of humanity to benefit from this transformation. Major capitalist leaders like Elon Musk, though, have a clear vested interest in certain outcomes. They may not intentionally seek social and political catastrophe, but in seeking more power for themselves at the expense of average people, they may well bring such a catastrophe about. Technological advancement is inevitable but how it plays out, what it's used for and whether its benefits are distributed equitably is up to us to decide.
Read more
on Elon Musk, Tesla, Twitter and the human future
Read this article:
Will Elon's robots bring utopia or tyranny? Why humans must control the future of automation - Salon
- Tasker updated with powerful new Android 15 automation features - Android Police - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Exploring Stereo Imaging and Automation at the Machine Vision Summit - Novus Light Technologies Today - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Yellow.ai unveils Email Automation feature for streamlined support - IT Brief New Zealand - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Automation in Biopharma Industry Propels Market Growth with Emerging Trends - Global Forecast to 2028 - Yahoo Finance - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Pioneering Healthcare's Future with Drug Development Automation - BNN Breaking - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Inspiring cloud automation - The Register - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Clinical Lab Automation Market to Reach $3.72 Billion by 2030 Amid Technological Advancements - PR Newswire - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- #ETFutureForwardME: Hiring and onboarding right with AI and automation, ETHRWorldME - ETHRWorld Middle East - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- How Document Digitization, Process Automation Can Help Rebuild Trust - GovCIO Media & Research - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Iraq's Customs starts using ASYCUDA automation system in Umm Qasr - Iraqi News - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Robot Software Market: Powering the Future of Automation ,Analysis and Forecast 2023-2029 - WhaTech - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- ImageSource Unveils ILINX AI for Intelligent Process Automation - PR Newswire - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- The Evolving Landscape of APIs: Integration, Automation, and AI - EnterpriseTalk - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Gen AI isn't the only tech driving automation in banking - Finextra - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Navigating the Future: The Shift Towards Level 3 Automation in the Automotive Industry - Medriva - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Automation and Controls Market is Rapidly Growing with Huge Application Scope and Opportunities by 2030 - EIN News - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Winning the Game: Essentials skills to survive AI, LLMs and Automation - DataDrivenInvestor - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Industrial Metrology Market Set to Hit $17.96 Billion by 2030, Driven by Automation and Quality Demand - BNN Breaking - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Automation tools Archives - Milwaukee Community Journal - The Milwaukee Community Journal - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Industrial Automation Market to Receive Overwhelming Hike In Revenue That Will Boost Overall Industry Growth - EIN News - March 4th, 2024 [March 4th, 2024]
- Lutra AI launches to make building automated AI workflows easy - SiliconANGLE News - December 9th, 2023 [December 9th, 2023]
- AI meets materials science: the promise and pitfalls of automated discovery - VentureBeat - December 9th, 2023 [December 9th, 2023]
- SPS Fair 2023 - The Latest Industrial Automation Trends - IoT Analytics - December 9th, 2023 [December 9th, 2023]
- Top WorkTech News From the Week of December 8th: Updates from Infor, Automation Anywhere, IFS, and More - Solutions Review - December 9th, 2023 [December 9th, 2023]
- Nividous and RCG Global Services Focus on Empowering Healthcare and Life Sciences Organizations with Intelligent ... - PR Newswire - December 9th, 2023 [December 9th, 2023]
- Automation and Communication to Streamline Deliveries - Supply and Demand Chain Executive - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Future of Employment in an Era of Automation - Drishti IAS - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- From legacy to automation: Spirent's impact on network validation - ETCIO - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Genghis Grill Partners with Flybuy on Off-Premises Automation - FSR magazine - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Q&A: Workday exec talks hospitality and automated, scalable finance - Smartbrief - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Home Automation Market Size to Worth Around USD 788.33 BN by ... - InvestorsObserver - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Network automation market set to surge over the next decade - ChannelLife Australia - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Mitsubishi Electric agrees strategic investment in Otto Motors to ... - Robotics and Automation News - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Roots Automation Introduces InsurGPT - the World's Most Advanced ... - PR Newswire - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Research Shows Ways Digital Print and Automation Power Profitability - Printing Impressions - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Rockwell Automation Inc. stock outperforms market on strong trading day - MarketWatch - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Presto Automation Inc. (NASDAQ:PRST)? - Yahoo Finance - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- U.S. Companies Embrace Automation and Digitization - CPAPracticeAdvisor.com - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Byron Centers SpartanNash Ups Customer Service with Robotic ... - DBusiness - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Why KYC automation is key to business growth strategies - FinTech Magazine - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Leading Ireland & UK Industrial Automation company NeoDyne ... - Process & Control Today - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Automation Testing Market: Industry Overview, Size, Share and ... - Digital Journal - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Accelerate your speed of business with IBM Event Automation - IBM Newsroom - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- 3M Brings Innovation to the Manufacturing Supply Chain Environment - MarketScale - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Jitterbit Survey Reveals Low-Code Application Platforms Play an ... - GlobeNewswire - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Turning value into actions: How leaders can use automation and AI ... - Elite Business Magazine - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Automation will combat stagnation | theHRD - The HR Director Magazine - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- MG Tech Unveils New Palletizer with Yaskawa Cobot and Rockwell ... - Packaging Strategies - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- How automation technology helped Cainiao deliver more than 200 ... - Parcel and Postal Technology International - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- IT Priorities 2023: Business automation intensifies as data ... - ComputerWeekly.com - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Milking Automation Market Size, Share And Growth Analysis For 2023-2032 - EIN News - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Digitise your SMEs for Success: How can HR Automation empower you to Stay Ahead of the Game? - People Matters - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Verified acquires Pliance to compliment digital signatures with AML ... - Biometric Update - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- HireVue acquires Modern Hire to bolster hiring automation capabilities - HR Dive - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Advanced thermal imager for industrial automation, inspection ... - AZoM - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Warehouse Automation Survey 2023: More robots are coming to a ... - Modern Materials Handling - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Agriculture Automation and Control Systems Market Untapped ... - Digital Journal - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Himachal Pradesh Government Prioritizes Digitization and ... - TheNewsHimachal - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- An IT Executive's Guide to Automation - free eGuide - Neowin - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Rockwell Automation (ROK) is a Great Choice - Zacks Investment Research - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Industrial Automation Sensors Market is Predicted to Hit a Revenue of USD 37.76 Billion by Growing with a CAGR of 9.12% During 2022-2028; Growing... - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Declining Stock and Decent Financials: Is The Market Wrong About Honeywell Automation India Limited (NSE:HONAUT)? - Simply Wall St - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- What is Automation? - ISA - International Society of Automation - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Free Online PLC Training from AutomationDirect - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Investing in Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) five years ago would have delivered you a 65% gain - Simply Wall St - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- The Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market size was valued at USD 2.27 billion in 2021 and is predicted to reach USD 18.69 billion by 2030, with a... - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- Bill would give North Dakota manufacturers a tax break on automation - The Center Square - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- I just watched McDonald's next step into automation and why are you so mad about it? - ZDNet - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- What if your colleague is a bot? Harnessing the benefits of workplace automation without alienating staff - The Conversation - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- Will Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (HOLI) Stay at the Top of the Industrials Sector? - InvestorsObserver - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- Valmet Oyj : to supply automation to three waste-to-energy plants in Sungnam City, Korea - Marketscreener.com - January 10th, 2023 [January 10th, 2023]
- How Automation Can Bridge The Gap Between Internal Operations And Customer Service Excellence - Forbes - December 26th, 2022 [December 26th, 2022]
- The Global Industrial Automation And Control Systems Market size is expected to reach $301.8 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 10.0% CAGR... - December 26th, 2022 [December 26th, 2022]
- Introducing the Automation Kit for Power Platform - December 16th, 2022 [December 16th, 2022]
- Salesforce com : Launches Automation Everywhere Bundle to Help Companies Lower Costs, Boost Productivity, and Deliver Success Now - Marketscreener.com - December 2nd, 2022 [December 2nd, 2022]
- ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. and Tempo Automation, Inc. Announce Closing of Business Combination; Tempo Automation Holdings, Inc. to Trade on... - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Global automation major Diebold Nixdorf expands presence in India with Bengaluru facility - The Economic Times - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Structural Health Monitoring Market Report 2022: Increasing Requirement for Standardization and Automation for the Repair and Maintenance of Civil and... - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- The mining automation market size is expected to grow from USD 3.1 billion in 2022 to USD 4.2 billion by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of... - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Cisco study: Network teams look to SDN, automation to manage multicloud operations - Network World - November 16th, 2022 [November 16th, 2022]