The Future of Work

In the excerpt of Hararis non-fiction book “Homo Deus”, published in 2015, he predicts a new unworking class in the 21st century that does not contribute to society because of an increase in professions being taken over by computer algorithms.

 

The future of the job market is uncertain, so it is also unclear what to teach in schools, as the knowledge could already be irrelevant once the students have grown up. The classical concept of learning and afterwards working could become outdated, because with the growth of technology people will have to constantly learn and stay informed to be able to participate in the job market. 

In the future our values of Liberalism will perhaps be impossible to live up to. According to the author a new unemployed class will emerge since a majority of professions will be executed by algorithms. This makes space for new professions that require a lot of flexibility and creativity such as virtual-world designers.

But since many people may be unable to constantly reinvent themselves, they would not be able to keep up with the changing job market, therefore becoming unemployable.

The author states that this group of people will most likely search for emotional engagement in the online world or in drug abuse.

 

In order to convey his rather bleak view of the future of work Harari uses arguments and stylistic devices.

The author introduces his text by alluding to the industrial revolution in the 19th century to explain the origins of the urban proletariats (cfl. l.1). Later on in the text the upbringing of this class can be compared to the “technological revolution” and the creation of the new unworking class the author predicts. Through the aforementioned allusion his prediction becomes convincing: The industrial revolution came along with a new class, therefore it is only likely that this “revolution” will as well.

By using pronouns such as “we” (l.9) Harari includes himself and the readers in the might happening change, this increases interest and heightens the reader's attention since they are included and therefore would be affected by, or could become a part of the new class, as well.

“people devoid of any economic, political, or even artistic value, who contribute nothing to the prosperity, power and glory of society.” (ll.11-14), is the description the author attributes to the new unworking class. This description gives a negative outlook on the future “we” might experience. Furthermore the author creates an image of a glorious society, so the prospect of people taking advantage of it without contributing themselves, engages the reader.

Harai includes a study by the Oxford researchers Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne about the future of employment (cfl. l.17). He makes use of the University's renown and reliable reputation in order to underline the following argument of “different professions being taken over by computer algorithms.” (ll.20-21). The study shows the jobs at risk by 2033, which is less than twenty years away (published in 2015) and can therefore be considered the near future.

The author includes a list of many standard jobs at high risk through a parallelism/ repetitive structure to make the severity and amount of jobs that could be replaced by computers unmistakably clear (cfl. l.24.40). The list gives an outlook over a huge profession range that will most likely be affected so there is a high chance that the reader's job is included as well, thus creating a shock factor and an aspect of identification with the text. Otherwise, if the readers profession is not listed, it still indicates a large change in the job- market.

Possible new professions “require much more creativity and flexibility” (ll.54-55), so there still is no bright outlook on the future, because even though there will be an opening for new jobs, they will be much more difficult and take more expertise and effort. This creates uncertainty if people will be able to adapt to these high standards (cfl. l.56-59). As an example “virtual-world designers” (l.52) get mentioned along with a direct appeal to the readers “try to imagine a virtual world created by an insurance agent!” (ll.59-60). This request makes the readers realise for themselves that such a scenario is unlikely and to some degree even absurd. 

Furthermore Harari highlights the uncertainty of the future job market by connecting its constant changing state to schools having “no idea what to teach our kids” (l.63). This is emotive language since the future of the own children is a topic that is able to engage a certain group of readers immensely. This constant change that educational institutions should adapt to is explained more in depth by the traditional concept of “a period of learning followed by a period of working” (ll.67-68). This parallelism contrasts the prediction of the author that in the future people will have to keep learning throughout their lives (cfl. ll.71-72). This is presented as the only possibility and the author mentions that “many if not most” (l.76) will be unable to keep up with this lifestyle.

The terminology “technological bonanza” (l.75) indicates that even the unemployed masses can be supported through a growing economy and more government income. The following questions “But what will keep them occupied and content?” (ll.78-79) and “What will they do all day?” (ll.80-81) about people having to be occupied or they will go crazy engages the readers to form their own thoughts and encourages them to feel hopeful (“if they don't have to work and their living costs still get covered, they can lead a nice, happy life”).

The author quickly shuts down these possible thoughts with the prospects of drug abuse or a video game addiction, which would also contribute to us straying from our liberal values (cfl. ll.81-82,88).

Furthermore it is noticeable that the author repeatedly underlines that the new class is useless, “useless class” (l.14), “useless masses” (l.77), “unnecessary people” (l.82), “useless bums” (ll.90-91). Readers and people in general would want to avoid a future society where they or their children could either be useless or be hard workers and adapt whilst others do nothing and still get financially supported.

The author ends the text with the question “What's so sacred about useless bums who pass their days devouring artificial experiences in La La Land?” (ll.90-93). This furthermore questions the execution of Liberalism. According to its beliefs, human life and it’s experiences are sacred, but just vegetating could hardly be described as such. “Living” in a virtual reality world also brings no real experiences and memories but merely artificial ones to create an illusion of ”excitement and emotional engagement” (ll.85-86). The word “devouring” indicates that these people desperately need this distraction as if they are “starved” of joy otherwise and to escape the “drab reality outside” (ll.87-88). Finally La La Land describes an ideal dreamworld or state, a derealization, which the new unworking class experiences through technology.

 

In conclusion Harai achieves the conveying of his bleak view of the future of work through focusing mainly on the effect it will have on people. Indirectly he mentions the possibility of wealth for some but mainly highlights a huge list of professions which will be taken over by computer algorithms and therefore resulting in an increase in unemployment rates. Moreover he mentions a new unworking class which will suffer from not being able to adapt to the changes in the job market and will lead unfulfilling and unsuccessful lifes.

Harari tries to convince the readers of his opinions and predictions mostly by making use of engaging questions and appealing to their emotions.

 

The scenarios for the future of work portrayed in Harari’s book “Homo Deus” is in almost every aspect opposite to the one presented in Microsoft's video.

Whilst Microsoft shows a prediction of the future in which technology creates more opportunities and chances for everyone. For example the easy and immediate access to the internet and therefore knowledge and information at the fingertips of everyone. 

Harari predicts a future in which many will not be able to keep up with the changes. He does not believe that everyone would be able to adapt to the new technologies. For him, the increase of technology will also result in unemployment since many professions would be taken over by computer algorithms.

In regards to the revolution of the job market, Microsoft focuses rather on new methods of working and presenting such as holograms or smart and interactive boards.

So on one hand Microsoft presents an easier lifestyle through everything becoming interconnected and on the other hand Harari speaks of a future in which many people will be unable to keep up with the lifestyle of constantly having to adapt to the newest technology changes.

 

I personally believe that there will always be people unable to adapt, who will be damned to lead a life as described by Harari. But I still think that Microsoft's portrayal of the future is more likely. After all technology is designed to be as easy as possible and is created with the intention of being used by everyone. Maybe in the beginning stages of a technological revolution some would be unable to adapt but I believe that at some point the rapid changes will come to a stop and development will go a slower discourse again. People who grow up in these times will be able to have secure jobs and interact with the technology naturally and the struggles of the beginning phases, which Harari describes, will be left behind. 

What I would worry about are the prizes of all the technology gadgets. In Microsoft's video the Home and the people that were shown were fully equipped with all kinds of smart gadgets which I would believe to be quite expensive. Naturally not everyone could afford all these devices. But if everyone else, the social group and even the working places, relies on these, some people would be left out and at a disadvantage.

Furthermore Hararis description of the “useless class” being financially supported by  the money made through the new technological innovation seems unreasonable to me. I believe that in the future the money people receive from the government as social support would not be more than nowadays. From today's standpoint and prizes this class would therefore not even be able to afford any gadgets to take them to 3Dvirtual- reality worlds.