- it's likely that automation will result in job losses in the future
- marvellous, what can we do to help speed it up
I've got to say that I have issue with this as I don't think its that simple and we should be talking about the issues better.
This is an inevitability. There is a limit to how fast this can be achieved by any nation but every nation with the capacity is chasing this, and will seek to use international resources to achieve it. I'm not sure that the UK doing it changes that point at which it will happen ultimately. Its a relatively fixed point in the future within certain parameters.
There are also consequences to not being in the lead of this which are not necessarily good too. Its in essence something of an arms race. Putin has more or less expressed it in that fashion this week.
To my mind our political lack of understanding of technology is a major hindrance here, whilst Russia certainly seems to comprehend it. They won't be alone.
We have also shot ourselves in the foot too in this. There are already huge problems in getting people with the skills to enable this thanks to Brexit. Plus many Brits who have these skills perhaps are of the mindset where they might not wish to stay in the UK for their entire working career if opportunities present themselves elsewhere.
The future of automation and the effect of society that it will have does present problems to countries that are going through particularly big population increases. How will they support large numbers of people who no longer have jobs. The reality is they either train them to be able to work in this industry or they become a burden on society in one way or another.
This is perhaps why reducing the growth of population has a social argument to it. The trouble is the immigration debate currently going on, and the methods in which we want to try and do it is utterly flawed too. Especially given the size of our growing elderly population which will need supporting in different ways, and need that support now.
Of course a society with 5 million of these versus a society of 10 million of these has to have a better educational structure and be better at innovation. The UK has been able to compete with China because of this, but for how long, and without attracting people from the EU? Is our education system taking it seriously and equipped to cope with this change? (The answer here is no).
This is where humans being humans is such a worrying thing. Older people might be more against immigration but they also could become a scapegoat of the future within a culture which - through Brexit - has promoted and encourage and enabled discrimination.
Survival of the fittest is ultimately where this all is headed, if there is not a conscious admission and proper consideration of it all.
Stephen Hawking has said that AI puts humanity at risk. It does. In multiple ways, but at the same time, I'm not sure that you can stop that no matter what you do. The most you can do is be aware of the pitfuls and try and mitigate against those.
No one is doing this. Anywhere. This is the most worrying thing of all.
Lurking in the background is some sort of disaster that would take us back in terms of human progress. I think we are somewhat over due something truly catastrophic - though that makes me sound like a doomsday nutter. A health pandemic or anti-biotic resistance are the ones that sit in my mind most in the immediate future perhaps ahead of North Korea - though I might feel differently if I lived in Seoul. Climate change and attitudes relating and driving immigration policy are also driving big threats too, rather than somehow protecting us from them. How long before a terrorist attack using chemical weapons? Is our country in anyway, prepared for an event of any sizeable scale? The government response to Grenfell and its attitude of ignoring problems that stem from Brexit suggests we probably aren't. We spend too much time blaming symptoms of political and social problems on the wrong causes and deciding that the solution is something which only creates additional problems rather than addressing them.
I've said before, that Brexit itself is not necessary flawed as a concept. The reasoning given for it and being promoted as goals and the way its being approached however, is utter bollocks.
Brexit is ultimately flawed because it doesn't have a set of interlocking national goals and ambitions which is thought out in a comprehensive manner. Say we decided to pour money into education, tackled the absurdity of the home office in its inhumane and unlawful and unthinking way, say we improved the protection for workers and recognised the impact current working practises were having, came up with innovative plans to manage an aging population or basically had ANY sort of vision, it could be ok.
We don't have that. Things might be born out of necessity in the long term, but in the short term it throws too many people under the bus and doesn't produce any hint of long term benefit either for that reason.