Working smarter and more effectively means working with fewer staff

Technology will become smarter than humans, so we must acknowledge that we are moving towards a future with less labour, says Jeroen van Gennep. That is more sustainable, efficient and safer.

Published in het Parool , leading national newspaper of the Netherlands, on 23 juli 2022 and online

High inflation, strikes and understaffing. Across Europe, the economic reality is not that of the roaring twenties as many had hoped after the corona lockdowns. Instead of the same rising economic prosperity as in the 1920s, we seem to be sliding further into a cost-of-living crisis. History has known many moments in which these economic problems occurred, but the solution that is now presenting itself is one that is possible for the first time: working less.

The aftermath of the lockdowns is evident. Never before have so many sectors been hit hard at the same time (hospitality, travel, healthcare) as in corona times. The consequences now that the lockdowns are over: more demand for staff, which is not there. Together with the war in Ukraine, high inflation and the necessary changes to achieve environmental goals, this is causing widespread protests and strikes.

See the farmers’ protest in the Netherlands over nitrogen measures. In France and the UK, railway workers are striking to demand higher wages and job retention. In recent weeks, farmers in Italy, Poland and Spain have also taken to the streets with tractors to protest against green government regulations and high fuel prices. We are entering what the media have coined the summer of discontent. A reference to the opening act of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, more on that later.

Algorithm

At the same time, a quiet revolution is taking place on the technological front. In 2019, Boston Dynamics came with Spot, best known as the rhythmically dancing robot dog. A gimmick, the application of which in the economy is limited. However, the same company is now coming up with Stretch, a robot applied to automated warehouse work. Stretch will enter the labour market in 2023. DHL and H&M, among others, have already placed their orders.

In another sector, OpenAI recently launched Dalle-E, an AI-powered platform where an algorithm can create the most detailed and versatile photos and digital paintings by typing in a few sentences. To be clear, Dalle-E doesn’t search for an image or modify an existing one, but creates something entirely new. A creative intelligence that was previously thought to be unique to humans.

These examples are precursors to a broader trend. Where in previous centuries progress always went hand in hand with the provision of labour, this has changed due to artificial intelligence and robotisation. Technology can learn and control and repair itself. In this century there will be less work for humans.

Mankind is not unique

‘In the past, new jobs were also always created’ is an often-heard argument for why there will always be work. This is based on the assumption that what we saw in the past will also happen in the future. However, past performance does not guarantee future results. What makes humans so unique that there are tasks that only they can perform, even if they do not yet exist?

Intelligence is needed to perform work: the gathering and application of knowledge and skills. Mankind was unique in this, especially when they worked together and used technological aids. Increasingly, however, technology can apply its intelligence autonomously. The earlier examples of Dall-E and Stretch are at the beginning of this development. Technology will become smarter than man, especially in applied tasks. What is unique about man will soon no longer be our ability to work.

The resistance in Europe is essentially about protecting jobs, incomes and working conditions. The desperate need to preserve jobs and current working conditions creates barriers to making the delivery of goods and services safer, more sustainable and more reliable.

In practice, working smarter and more effectively will increasingly mean working with fewer staff.

Idle pleasures

Regardless of whether it is technically possible, the more important question is whether we as a society are prepared for it. Work is the foundation of our economy and government (income tax as largest source of government funds) and provides meaning for many.

It requires a change of course in our thinking. The rhetoric of ‘work must pay’ and ‘the right to be in work’ should be void if it means that we produce less sustainably, less efficiently and less safely if we let the work be conducted by people.

Back to Shakespeare and Richard III, who at the end of his opening monologue declares, “I hate the idle pleasures of these days.” In a future with less work, we should embrace and perfect the “idle pleasures” of our time. Embrace the part-timer, embrace the hobbyist, embrace those who fill their time differently.

We need to recognize that we are moving toward a future with less work and that this requires a different way of thinking. The question of our time should not be how to keep people in work and combat inequality through higher wages, but how to create more equality and support people in the transition to an economy with less work.