he world received its first introduction to the idea of dangerous robots in the 1921 Czech play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Though Rossum’s robots were made of chemical batter rather than being metallic or mechanical, they ended up being much more efficient than the humans, able to do the work of “two and a half men.” They were also more murderous, leading a successful uprising against their creators and wiping out humanity.
R.U.R. cemented the “untrustworthy machine” trope laid out in earlier literary works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is a trope that can even be seen in commentary from experts within the robotics industry. The New York Times reports that tech giants from Bill Gates to Elon Musk “are freaking out about the rise of invincible machines.” However, robot influence and power grows as the machines become more advanced. Wired magazine notes that though robot capabilities might be currently limited, we need to seriously consider how much power we want to cede to machines as they become more advanced. Specifically, as robots become more ubiquitous, it’s important to think of the larger role they might play in the workforce at the cost of human jobs.
The growing problem of workforce automation is just one of many challenges facing the future of society. However, these future societal challenges prompt many potential solutions. Universal basic income may become one way to sustain populations that might lose employment as workforces become more automated. Blockchain, which has already revolutionized the banking industry, might be used to implement data security in applications from food safety to workers’ rights. And green IT and lab grown meat are just two innovative ways societies might combat climate change. Clearly, we haven’t seen all of the challenges the future might have to offer. However, we have only just begun imagining solutions.
A Universal Solution to Workplace Automation
Workplace automation is not just a concern for the future. Several past professions, from switchboard operators who connected our telephone calls to elevator operators who originally controlled elevators with manual levers, have become completely automated. Currently, those working as grocery cashiers, toll collectors, or factory workers are some of the most at-risk of having their occupations taken by machines. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone else’s jobs are safe. One sobering 2013 report from the University of Oxford Department of Engineering Science predicts that up to 47% of current jobs will become automated within the next decade or two. In 2017, Alex Williams reported that fields from radiology to law could be overcome by robots within the recent future.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been touted as one potential economic solution to the vast numbers of workers who are expected to be displaced by increased automation in the workforce. If a state chooses to issue UBI, it provides cash deposits to all citizens in a certain amount, independent of citizen employment. Proponents of UBI argue that it can be used to sustain populations who might become unemployed with an increasing wave of future workplace automation. Additionally, some proponents of UBI argue that the extra income support will actually increase employment in low paid or temporary occupations and may even encourage workers to pursue riskier employment ventures such as opening a business or restaurant.
Recent research with UBI, however, shows that the policy has a long way to go. A famed Finnish experiment with the program found that though participants were happy with the program, the experiment did not in fact boost employment as expected. One economic study published in 2019 found that the proponents of UBI haven’t been specific enough about what the policy would entail, making the proposal difficult to study. While some arguments for UBI assume that it will increase the labor supply, others assume that it will have the opposite effect and decrease employment. Because of this discrepancy, researchers are currently having a difficult time analyzing whether the results of the Finnish study are positive or negative.
However, those hoping that UBI might be the solution to massive workforce automation may not need to despair. Not every expert believes the rampant doomsday hypotheses about what robots mean for the workforce. Berkeley roboticist Ken Goldberg argues that it’s much more likely that humans will work alongside robots than be the victims of a robot apocalypse. Goldberg describes a situation he describes as multiplicity. In contrast to singularity, the hypothetical point where machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence, multiplicity describes a state where humans and machines work together in harmony to tackle complex problems. To illustrate this point, Goldberg points to machine learning technology, arguing that machines do well solving problems in controlled environments, but struggle to operate in uncertainty, like they would without human assistance. That would make machines unsuited for small scale management positions—much less global domination.
The Future of Data Storage
However, just because robots might not take over the workplace doesn’t mean that society won’t see huge shifts within the next several years. Blockchain, a new database technology, promises to change the way we store information, which could have positive implications in industries such as banking. In a traditional database, data is stored in tables. Large databases use servers built using thousands of computers to allow users to access its information simultaneously. In contrast, blockchain is a kind of database that stores transactions in groups of information known as blocks. When a block fills up with data, it connects to the last block in the series, forming a chain. Filled blocks form part of an irreversible timeline, and blocks are given timestamps when they’re added to the chain.
Irreversible timestamping makes blockchain an ideal database for banking. Blockchain technology was in fact first applied to Bitcoin, a banking system that uses blockchain to verify transactions and eliminate the role of banks. It would be almost impossible for a hacker to successfully steal bitcoin. In the Bitcoin system, each block in the chain contains its own hash and the hash from the block before it. When the block is edited in any way, the hash changes and errors can be detected. If a hacker tries to alter their blockchain copy, their piece of the blockchain will mismatch every other piece of bitcoin, easily identified as fraudulent activity.
Blockchain technology, however, can be used to create irreversible ledgers of other datapoints outside of banking transactions. In the future, blockchain might be used to verify the validity of elections, since it creates records that can’t be tampered with unless the majority of computers hosting the system agree to a change. Blockchain can also be used by companies to verify where perishable food products have been on their way to their final retail destinations. This process can help verify the source of foodborne illnesses like listeria or e Coli. Additionally, blockchain might also be used to verify records, whether that be for the purpose of enforcing workers’ rights or maintaining medical files. Clearly, we haven’t yet imagined all of the applications where blockchain can help keep accurate, secure records.
Environmental Challenges and Solutions
In addition to harnessing innovative methods of storing information, the future will also provide environmental challenges demanding innovative solutions. Smart cities, which use sophisticated technologies to make urban life easier, provide a myriad of environmental challenges. For one thing, smart cities rely on rapidly changing digital technology. Since it's estimated that 70% of the natural resources used during the lifecycle of a computer are used during manufacturing, smart cities consume more resources through their extensive use of digital technology that quickly needs to be updated. Further, if smart city technology is installed without proper design and testing, governments can waste millions of dollars and create a city full of environmental waste.
However, if designed properly, smart city technology can combat wastefulness and contribute to greener urban centers. Governments can avoid wasteful smart urban planning processes by using green IT, a method of environmentally sustainable computing. Green IT is a necessary practice in the wake of smart city experiments that have already contributed computer waste. In Barcelona, for example, smart street lights installed in 2011 to improve energy efficiency by detecting movement and climatic conditions were out of commission in just a few years. Green IT practices include deliberately designing computer parts that can be repurposed and recycling such computer parts in new machines.
Like green IT, lab-grown meat has been proposed as an innovative solution to many of the ethical and environmental issues which spring from factory farming. Cultured meat can be produced from just a few animal cells grown into a desired shape in a bioreactor. One 2018 study found that the switch to cultured meat could potentially result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gases when compared with those produced by current livestock practices. Today’s livestock animals release the 1.1 billion pounds of food they consume as manure, which releases methane into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Though methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide does, it is initially more devastating to the environment than carbon dioxide, thanks to its efficacy in heat absorption.
Lab-grown meat can also potentially feed more people than traditional livestock. The world population is supposed to extend to 10 billion by 2050, and the increase in population is expected to bring an increase in the demand for meat. Cultured meat can meet this demand without the large calorie input that is required by livestock. For every calorie of beef that is produced under traditional methods, a cow must be fed 25-30 calories of grain.
However, that doesn’t mean that lab grown meat is without its challenges. In processing lab-grown meat, there is a need to develop better cell lines and scale bioreactors for mass production. Additionally, manufacturers of cultured meat might face marketing barriers. In one recent Australian study, only 28% of young adults were willing to try the lab-grown protein. These challenges must be met before lab-grown meat is used as a solution to future environmental problems.
From savvy new data storage to hamburgers prepared by scientists, the future of society will surely look much different than the past. In the years to come, the world will face challenges never before seen. However, if current proposals are any indication, the world is rife with solutions. Only the future will tell how societies will respond to the most pressing challenges.
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The Future of Society: Innovative Solutions to Global Challenges
December 25, 2020
Technology allows us to live longer, work less, and know more than ever before. But what will we do once most of our labor force is replaced by computers or robots? Here, we track the policies, predictions, and philosophies that are steering us into the world of tomorrow.
T
he world received its first introduction to the idea of dangerous robots in the 1921 Czech play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Though Rossum’s robots were made of chemical batter rather than being metallic or mechanical, they ended up being much more efficient than the humans, able to do the work of “two and a half men.” They were also more murderous, leading a successful uprising against their creators and wiping out humanity.
R.U.R. cemented the “untrustworthy machine” trope laid out in earlier literary works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is a trope that can even be seen in commentary from experts within the robotics industry. The New York Times reports that tech giants from Bill Gates to Elon Musk “are freaking out about the rise of invincible machines.” However, robot influence and power grows as the machines become more advanced. Wired magazine notes that though robot capabilities might be currently limited, we need to seriously consider how much power we want to cede to machines as they become more advanced. Specifically, as robots become more ubiquitous, it’s important to think of the larger role they might play in the workforce at the cost of human jobs.
The growing problem of workforce automation is just one of many challenges facing the future of society. However, these future societal challenges prompt many potential solutions. Universal basic income may become one way to sustain populations that might lose employment as workforces become more automated. Blockchain, which has already revolutionized the banking industry, might be used to implement data security in applications from food safety to workers’ rights. And green IT and lab grown meat are just two innovative ways societies might combat climate change. Clearly, we haven’t seen all of the challenges the future might have to offer. However, we have only just begun imagining solutions.
A Universal Solution to Workplace Automation
Workplace automation is not just a concern for the future. Several past professions, from switchboard operators who connected our telephone calls to elevator operators who originally controlled elevators with manual levers, have become completely automated. Currently, those working as grocery cashiers, toll collectors, or factory workers are some of the most at-risk of having their occupations taken by machines. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone else’s jobs are safe. One sobering 2013 report from the University of Oxford Department of Engineering Science predicts that up to 47% of current jobs will become automated within the next decade or two. In 2017, Alex Williams reported that fields from radiology to law could be overcome by robots within the recent future.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been touted as one potential economic solution to the vast numbers of workers who are expected to be displaced by increased automation in the workforce. If a state chooses to issue UBI, it provides cash deposits to all citizens in a certain amount, independent of citizen employment. Proponents of UBI argue that it can be used to sustain populations who might become unemployed with an increasing wave of future workplace automation. Additionally, some proponents of UBI argue that the extra income support will actually increase employment in low paid or temporary occupations and may even encourage workers to pursue riskier employment ventures such as opening a business or restaurant.
Recent research with UBI, however, shows that the policy has a long way to go. A famed Finnish experiment with the program found that though participants were happy with the program, the experiment did not in fact boost employment as expected. One economic study published in 2019 found that the proponents of UBI haven’t been specific enough about what the policy would entail, making the proposal difficult to study. While some arguments for UBI assume that it will increase the labor supply, others assume that it will have the opposite effect and decrease employment. Because of this discrepancy, researchers are currently having a difficult time analyzing whether the results of the Finnish study are positive or negative.
However, those hoping that UBI might be the solution to massive workforce automation may not need to despair. Not every expert believes the rampant doomsday hypotheses about what robots mean for the workforce. Berkeley roboticist Ken Goldberg argues that it’s much more likely that humans will work alongside robots than be the victims of a robot apocalypse. Goldberg describes a situation he describes as multiplicity. In contrast to singularity, the hypothetical point where machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence, multiplicity describes a state where humans and machines work together in harmony to tackle complex problems. To illustrate this point, Goldberg points to machine learning technology, arguing that machines do well solving problems in controlled environments, but struggle to operate in uncertainty, like they would without human assistance. That would make machines unsuited for small scale management positions—much less global domination.
The Future of Data Storage
However, just because robots might not take over the workplace doesn’t mean that society won’t see huge shifts within the next several years. Blockchain, a new database technology, promises to change the way we store information, which could have positive implications in industries such as banking. In a traditional database, data is stored in tables. Large databases use servers built using thousands of computers to allow users to access its information simultaneously. In contrast, blockchain is a kind of database that stores transactions in groups of information known as blocks. When a block fills up with data, it connects to the last block in the series, forming a chain. Filled blocks form part of an irreversible timeline, and blocks are given timestamps when they’re added to the chain.
Irreversible timestamping makes blockchain an ideal database for banking. Blockchain technology was in fact first applied to Bitcoin, a banking system that uses blockchain to verify transactions and eliminate the role of banks. It would be almost impossible for a hacker to successfully steal bitcoin. In the Bitcoin system, each block in the chain contains its own hash and the hash from the block before it. When the block is edited in any way, the hash changes and errors can be detected. If a hacker tries to alter their blockchain copy, their piece of the blockchain will mismatch every other piece of bitcoin, easily identified as fraudulent activity.
Blockchain technology, however, can be used to create irreversible ledgers of other datapoints outside of banking transactions. In the future, blockchain might be used to verify the validity of elections, since it creates records that can’t be tampered with unless the majority of computers hosting the system agree to a change. Blockchain can also be used by companies to verify where perishable food products have been on their way to their final retail destinations. This process can help verify the source of foodborne illnesses like listeria or e Coli. Additionally, blockchain might also be used to verify records, whether that be for the purpose of enforcing workers’ rights or maintaining medical files. Clearly, we haven’t yet imagined all of the applications where blockchain can help keep accurate, secure records.
Environmental Challenges and Solutions
In addition to harnessing innovative methods of storing information, the future will also provide environmental challenges demanding innovative solutions. Smart cities, which use sophisticated technologies to make urban life easier, provide a myriad of environmental challenges. For one thing, smart cities rely on rapidly changing digital technology. Since it's estimated that 70% of the natural resources used during the lifecycle of a computer are used during manufacturing, smart cities consume more resources through their extensive use of digital technology that quickly needs to be updated. Further, if smart city technology is installed without proper design and testing, governments can waste millions of dollars and create a city full of environmental waste.
However, if designed properly, smart city technology can combat wastefulness and contribute to greener urban centers. Governments can avoid wasteful smart urban planning processes by using green IT, a method of environmentally sustainable computing. Green IT is a necessary practice in the wake of smart city experiments that have already contributed computer waste. In Barcelona, for example, smart street lights installed in 2011 to improve energy efficiency by detecting movement and climatic conditions were out of commission in just a few years. Green IT practices include deliberately designing computer parts that can be repurposed and recycling such computer parts in new machines.
Like green IT, lab-grown meat has been proposed as an innovative solution to many of the ethical and environmental issues which spring from factory farming. Cultured meat can be produced from just a few animal cells grown into a desired shape in a bioreactor. One 2018 study found that the switch to cultured meat could potentially result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gases when compared with those produced by current livestock practices. Today’s livestock animals release the 1.1 billion pounds of food they consume as manure, which releases methane into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Though methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide does, it is initially more devastating to the environment than carbon dioxide, thanks to its efficacy in heat absorption.
Lab-grown meat can also potentially feed more people than traditional livestock. The world population is supposed to extend to 10 billion by 2050, and the increase in population is expected to bring an increase in the demand for meat. Cultured meat can meet this demand without the large calorie input that is required by livestock. For every calorie of beef that is produced under traditional methods, a cow must be fed 25-30 calories of grain.
However, that doesn’t mean that lab grown meat is without its challenges. In processing lab-grown meat, there is a need to develop better cell lines and scale bioreactors for mass production. Additionally, manufacturers of cultured meat might face marketing barriers. In one recent Australian study, only 28% of young adults were willing to try the lab-grown protein. These challenges must be met before lab-grown meat is used as a solution to future environmental problems.
From savvy new data storage to hamburgers prepared by scientists, the future of society will surely look much different than the past. In the years to come, the world will face challenges never before seen. However, if current proposals are any indication, the world is rife with solutions. Only the future will tell how societies will respond to the most pressing challenges.
