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8. Technology is indifferent to
its impact on people. There is a
growing risk that technology will harm
the livelihoods and well-being of an
ever-larger swathe of people, whether
through displacement of jobs, due to
robotics and machine intelligence,
social isolation, or disruption of
communities. This need not be true.
Emerging technologies can help
meet human needs in new ways that
create new industries and unforeseen
types of new jobs. This will require an
evolution of global and local financial
and economic systems to create
the conditions that will allow this to
happen. In addition, technological
change is most likely to be adopted
effectively in those parts of the world
already advantaged over the last few
decades. As a result, finding ways
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world monitor
to support the growth of the most
disadvantaged areas becomes even
more critical.
9. We need to focus on education to
deliver the right skills for the future.
This will require direct engagement
between governments and businesses to
match people’s needs with opportunities,
particularly in a technology-enabled
environment.
Anyone reading this article is a citizen,
and is likely worried about the future
of their country and the ones they are
close to. Given the pressing nature of
the issues raised here, we hope that
readers will reflect on the diagnosis and
observations we suggest and engage
their organizations and communities
to address the growing challenges. It is
important to recognize how frameworks
developed over the last 70 years have
in some circumstances led to troubling
consequences. We urge you to focus on
the issues as they exist now and some
of the above observations about how to
address them.
A healthy economy needs a healthy
society, just as a healthy society
needs a healthy economy. This is
one of the defining lessons of the
period since the end of World War
II. It has long served business and
policymakers well to create the
conditions for this commonality of
interest. Now is the time for the
system to be realigned, once again
as throughout human history, around
greater commonality of purpose.
Based on: Strategy + business