L'innovation, la performance et la transformation irréversible de l'emploi et de l'économie

Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy (published by Digital Frontier Press, 2012).

Based on their research at the MIT Center for Digital Business Brynjolfsson and McAfee show that whilst technological advances and innovation in artificial intelligence have undoubtedly provided us with significant benefit (certainly in developed countries), many workers are being left behind in terms of their skills and potential to earn.

As Brynjolfsson and McAfee argue it is incumbent on society - especially through what is taught to the current and future generations - to ensure that they have the ability to cope with and, more crucially, embrace the 'waves' of innovative change that will continue to occur; the authors of his book assert that technological progress is 'accelerating'.

Professor Skidelsky's analysis is that unemployment is inevitable and that we should be willing to redefine what the purpose of work really is and that any additional wealth which is created should be redistributed to ensure that we place greater societal emphasis on leisure and family:

Rather than try to repel the advance of the machine, which is all that the Luddites could imagine, we should prepare for a future of more leisure, which automation makes possible. But, to do that, we first need a revolution in social thinking.

I fear that Skidelsky's advice will not be heeded and that there will be even greater demarcation between those who have access to technology and the ability to use it to their advantage and those who do not have access and, as a consequence of being excluded fall further behind in terms of wealth and their skill base.

...