in the face of rapid advances in
artificial intelligence. They agree
that technology would be a major
force in the world for social and
economic benefits at the same time
acknowledging the potential for
mis-use in a wide variety of ways.
They intend “to foster pub lic
understanding” a set “best
practices” for work in artificial
intelligence. They seek “to ensure
AI technologies benefit and
empower as many people as
possible. They have given a call to
engineers of artificial intelligence
“to oppose technology in weapons
or other tools that could be used
to violate human rights”. They have
created this organisation also to
ease corporate anxiety over the
prospect of government regulation
of this new technology.
W ell such debates of
academic scholarship and
know ledge may ap pear to be
convincing and their advice more
lof ty on hearing them, w hen
examined under the reality of
experiences of the workers and
toiling masses such advices and
assumptions prove to be dubious
and useless for the attainment of
human prosperity under capitalist
system with its mode of capitalist
production.
The workers and working-class
shall not fall prey to these
exhortations of these capitalist
economy experts and become
com placent in f ulfilling their
historical class mission; since the
fourth industrial revolution cannot
be stopped.
Even without the fourth
industrial revolution which is
supp osed to perv ade Indian
economy by 2040, the workers and
Indian working class has been
suffering with the devastating
effects of 3 rd I.T and computer
revolution.
Already the small, marginal
and middle farmers in our country
are being displaced from the sector
due to non-viability of agriculture
20
being the seeds, chemicals,
fertilizers becoming more and more
costly and with lack of remuneration
prices and institutional credit
facilities.
Many
farm ers
(thousands) are forced to commit
suicides to liberate themselves
from the debt-traps and other
nuances of bankruptcy. Added to
this, forcible land acquisition by the
state has devastated the livelyhoods of small, marginal and middle
forms. With the fourth industrial
revolution and the introduction of
technology (aut omation and
machinery), this sector will be
occupied by the land-lords and
corp orations
reducing
the
employment prospects dramatically. The agricultural sector a
major job prov ider to Indian
economy will become barren of
jobs; with the introduction of AI
technology and automation in this
sector.
Already with the introduction
of textile machinery, and the
introduction of power looms and
Jet looms have been playing havoc
with the lives of the hand-loom
workers for all these 7.decades,
forcing hundreds of them to commit
suicides are live like paupers.
Already the introduction of
giant earth moving machinery like
proclines J.Bs and road laying
machinery in construction the rural
poor workers and the tribal poor
workers are derived of their lively
hood even reducing their job
prospects in works of MGNREGS
schemes and other relief schemes
at the time of droughts and
disasters.
Again the introduction I.T and
software technology though initially
provided jobs to the educated
engineers and MBA graduates to
some extent of satisfaction, and
presently millions of youth
graduated from the private
engineering colleges and business
management schools are unable to
find jobs, since the I.T industry finds
hardly one-tenth of them
employable. Still these private
universities are mush-rooming and
producing graduates that are not
qualified for white collar jobs. We
see them with their MBAs and
B.Tech/M.Tech degrees hawking to
sell consumer goods just like the
uneducated peddlers and rural
self-employed selling vegetables or
some agriculture produce or other,
going to each and every threshhold begg ing them to buy
consumer-goods. Or we find many
of them in fine attire beside roads
in temporary tents propagating as
salesmen of one consumer good
or other, carrying the load of
temporary tents and sales ware in
the morning and evenings. At some
instances these educated youth
have been reduced to work as
home delivery boys of goods for esale companies and e-marketing
business and for courier
companies. Such is the pathetic
condition of the educated youth in
our Country, w here they are
provided with such jobs (low end
works) that is beneath them.
W hen Amroha municipality
advertised for 114 posts of “Safai
Karmachari” or sweepers applications came from 19,000 people
including MBAs& Engineers.
MBAs AND Engineering
graduates in Mahabubnagar of
Telangana state have enrolled for
the MGNREGS. Post graduates
too worked in the works of
MGNREGS in this area. Such has
been the grim of reality of the new
job s to becreatea after any
technological revolution. The same
will be the fact with the fourth
industrial revolution. At the most it
may create a few low-end jobs,
leaving people to be self-employed
hawkers or such jobs beneath the
human dignity.
The predicament that with the
advance of technology and
automation, the living standards of
peop le and workers will be
imp roved and q uality of life
improved is also a myth disproving
Class Struggle