JESSE BROWN: The Luddite

Looking forward to a Luddite New Year

I've been blogging on this subject for about six months now and feel it's probably right to end 2009 with a little bit of a recap...

You see, I think that technology gets the blame for too many of life's problems nowadays. Most of the tech I have at home is there to enhance my lifestyle. I can't say I have anything too modern (the budget simply doesn't run to the latest gadgets), however the fact that I embrace some tech means that I don't conform to the traditional modern view of a Luddite. Most of the tech I have seems to work well.

The tech in modern workplaces is also quite visible, however more often than not it's there to increase production, not to enhance either the skills of the worker or of their working experience. Technology is pushed to its limits and beyond, often patched together to perform functions never previously considered, and used well beyond its useful life. I see today's society becoming increasingly uncaring, with many entrepreneurs keen to replace their workforce with technology where they can... As evidence, I see that today's society now boasts:

• ATMs where we used to have bank tellers;


• scanners at many supermarket checkouts where there used to be a member of staff;


• electronic trading, where you can order an item on the internet and have it delivered to you with no direct human interaction ever made, either by direct contact or phone;


• When you do ring, you get a host of computer automated responses and then a queue for up to 30 minutes before you get to speak to a person.
  

I grant you, there are still businesses that survive by relying on human interaction with customers, but their staff are often under increasing pressure to perform more effectively to compete. After all, internet trading is available 24/7 - however, staff can only work 40 hours or so a week. High Street retailers are therefore under pressure to open seven days a week, even for 24 hours a day, to compete. Shift working is therefore a necessity - however there's only so much consumer money available, particularly in these days. Workplace stress is said to be the fastest growing cause of staff sickness in the 21st Century. One in five people said that they found their work either very stressful or extremely stressful. (source: ACAS ) Managers are as much under pressure as their workers, and seek to survive by streamlining their businesses, reducing their workforce, automating more. We are slowly removing people from the workplace - where will it end?

I don't pretend to have the answers but feel that this is essentially the same issue that Ned Ludd and his fellow protesters were fighting for all those years ago. Surely quality of life needs to be considered? I'll leave you with another recent article which I hope will give you some food for thought in 2010...

http://comics.newsm8.com/think-about-back-to-home-business

The Luddite Fallacy

When you start delving into the history of Luddism (as I have been doing), then you come across differences of opinion in economic circles on the influence that mechanisation may have on the economy. The argument is known as the so-called "Luddite Fallacy." Economists argue that technological progress will never lead to massive, long-term unemployment.

The reasoning goes more or less like this:

1. Labour-saving technology is introduced into the workplace, and some workers lose their jobs, however production also becomes more efficient.

2. More efficiency leads to lower prices for the goods and services produced, leaving consumers with more money to spend on other things.

3. Increased spending produces increased demand across nearly all industries--and that means more jobs.

4. Displaced workers then are rehired.

Apparently, that's what happened when agriculture was mechanised: food prices fell as efficiency increased, and consumers spent their extra money elsewhere, producing jobs in the manufacturing and service sectors.

The problem is - is this scenario (for that's all it is) robust enough to apply in all situations? I'm not convinced - and there are others who share my view.

Robots Want Your Job

The more I hear about where future technology is leading us, the less I see the bright future painted to us when I was growing up; a future where technology was our friend, and was designed to ease our burdens. There would still be a place for man, in charge of the technology, while we humans lived more fulfilling lives.

How wrong we were. The main benefits are felt by the entrepreneurs. As the following article explains:

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/investing-strategy/2009/10/28/robots-want-your-job.aspx

Now do you see why I'm gaining some sympathy with the Luddites?

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Going Back To Basics

Another good blog entry, revealing the truth behind Luddism. The word is spreading...

http://www.flixya.com/post/tiddao/1752166/Back_To_Home_Business#


:)

True Luddism

Another great post, in the true spirit of Luddism.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/if-you-are-reading-this-post-you-are-not-a-luddite.ars

:)

Help Desk

I've had another series of meaningful exchanges with two different IT help desks today. A minor issue soon escalated to a total lack of service, with each help desk sure that the other was at fault. Who do I, the customer, believe? I think I'll go with the flow and just mark this one with the acronym P.I.C.N.I.C (Problem In Chair Not In Computer). So the problem isn't the desk but the chair. But whose chair?