Politicians appear unwilling to discuss impact of automation on employment
Madam Editor:
An extraordinarily worrying indication of how little politicians appear to understand or appreciate the critical work situation which is developing in the 21st century was exemplified by the unhindered passage of the first stages of a bill to end mandatory retirement age.
It is about as wrong and inappropriate a piece of legislation as can be imagined to combat an enormous unemployment problem which is fast approaching.
If those working are not prepared to work less and retire earlier then an accelerating number of people will never have opportunity to work at all.
An Oxford University report published 26th February 2017 predicts 47% of jobs are likely to be automated within the next two decades.
Interestingly enough, while indicating all jobs are threatened, the report suggests the jobs most likely to automate are Middle Management, Com- modity Sales, Journalistic/ Broadcasting, Accountancy and Medical.
Just weeks before that publication, a heavyweight trio of Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawkins warned of something similar in the US indicating loss of 5million professional driving jobs to self- drive vehicles.
This follows a Bank of England report of November 2015 ( before Brexit) indicated 15million UK jobs liable to fall to technology.
Politicians mesmerize by illusory job creation and preen themselves in the glory of unemployment apparently reducing rapidly.
It is a last gasp attempt to pretend that genuine action is being taken to prepare for possibly the greatest economic and social difficulty to ever challenge the human race.
Technology is real and transforming how we work and how long it will be possible to work in the future.
We ignore the genius of automation and robotics at our peril.
It is naive to believe all pol- iticians are unaware of the inevitability of work elimination but deeply disturbing to think they cynically keep quiet and do nothing in hope of retirement on obscene pensions before the enormous trauma of gross unemployment hits.
Politicians are notorious for the amount of discussion they generate.
None appear prepared to discuss automation however and its impact on work and employment and how to preserve jobs in an increasingly automated world.
It is time this political silence was challenged and a much more courageous media began asking pertinent questions bringing an exceptionally important aspect of human economic involvement into public debate.
Passing absurd and misguided though apparently popular legislation on the nod is no longer adequate. Padraic Neary, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo.