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Superfluous Sacks of Meat in a World of Metal and Machine
The debate over Automageddon is a distraction from the main event
This story was first published in Issue 4 of Maximus Magazine (November 2019)
The reports arrive thick and fast these days. From the big end of town, glossy 100-page monsters with stylish graphics and ‘seven key takeaways for the future of work,’ that land in your inbox with an almost physical thud. In their wake, a blizzard of tweets, LinkedIn updates and content from the long tail of freelancers and consultants, each trying to carve out space as thought leaders in the scramble for influence. It’s not easy to pick your way through the mess, and who has time to read a 100 page report these days, anyway?
If you do get a chance, you won’t find much middle ground. The optimists tell us everything is going to be fine and most of us are going to live in a world where humans and machines work in glorious symphony together — ‘Automotopia,’ a place with more than enough goods, services and leisure for everyone. The other, dystopian story (let’s call it ‘Automageddon’) also assumes quick and pervasive adoption of new technologies, but sees them displacing a huge number of jobs at most levels in the public and private sectors, and across industries and geographies, causing wide-ranging social…
