Technology: the good, bad and ugly
Do we want a society ruled by corporate interests?
A study of recorded history will show the many innovations and inventions that have indeed improved human life and some that haven’t. Every year new technologies come on the market.
This is a good thing … right? Not necessarily.
Humans have invented many technologies that enhanced human life. People appreciate the fact that we can access information though the media, travel to any country in the world, use many labour saving devices.
Humans have made many advances in computer technology, medicine, economics, science and many other areas.
We now know that gas-powered vehicles have managed to pollute the environment with carbon emissions causing serious health and climate issues.
Factories provide goods for our use but at the same time pollute the air we breathe causing illness and many deaths.
Manufacturers produce an enormous amount of goods such as plastics that have resulted in the worst kind of pollution on the earth and in our waters.
By 2021 the world will be producing 500 billion water bottles yearly. Why are manufacturers continuing to produce plastic when it has created a global disaster?
Humans discovered nuclear energy. We now have nuclear weapons that can destroy all life on earth and no place to dispose of nuclear waste safely.
Humans invented guns and weapons of mass destruction. Millions of people are murdered each year, but humans keep producing weapons.
Humans create pesticides, herbicides and poisons. Some chemicals kill animals and seep into the ground and poison humans.
Read the story of Grassy Narrows. Currently, humans are big on automation and robotics. Millions of jobs are eliminated because using machines is more cost effective.
Ryerson University states that 42 per cent of Canada’s workforce is at a high risk of being replaced by automation/robotics.
Some examples: Online banking replacing tellers, automated check-outs replacing cashiers in stores, self-drive vehicles replacing taxi drivers, truck drivers, delivery personnel, bus drivers — do the math. Is this really progress?
Some considerations:
- Who determines what products are invented? A minuscule percentage of humans, backed by rich people/corporations determine what is produced and goes to market. The key factor is wealth that benefits the few. Human jobs are considered collateral damage. People have become disposable.
- Jobs: Recent stats indicate that 40 per cent of high school grads do not go on to post secondary education. This group needs the very jobs that automation eliminates.
- Taxes: Billions of tax dollars are lost when people lose their jobs. Governments need to start taxing every machine and robot that replaces a human at the same rate a human was paying.
- Corporations vs. governments: Corporations are in it for the money. In 2017, one per cent of the rich and powerful grabbed 82 per cent of the wealth created. They have no allegiance to communities or countries. Example: U.S. and Canadian auto jobs were lost to Mexico because the labour was cheaper. Companies will shut down operations or lay off workers to save money. However, governments are elected by the people to serve all citizens. Therefore, governments must stop being bullied by the corporations and serve the needs of its citizens. As a result of NAFTA, Canada has been sued over 30 times by rich corporations challenging Canadian policies over trade. We have paid more than $200 million in fines.
Humans have to decide, now, if they wish to be governed by corporations or by elected officials.
Each citizen has the ability to make decisions about what they will buy.
Are we willing to live where machines and robotics rule or where humans determine their own destiny and way of life? People have the power not to buy goods and not to accept technologies that take away jobs we need.