Robots and the future.

When the Robots take over.

Recently the Pew Research Centre asked some 1900 technology experts whether they thought automated intelligence robots would displace more jobs than they created by 2025. Well there was no prizes for knowing the answer, but what did surprise was that half felt white collar jobs were the next to go. We all know about driverless cars and factory production carried out automated machines, but few have thought that highly skilled jobs would be whittled away. According to the report only jobs requiring compassion such as nursing, primary school teaching and other forms of care employment will remain. Lawyers, accountants, surgeons, soldiers, and so on will all lose out to intelligent robots all in the name more free time.

The compassionate occupations have traditionally been performed by women, so well you may ask what is the male workforce going to do to earn a living in this new world. The driving force that automated machines are cheaper than human labour may suggest greater profits for the companies concerned, but one wonders who will have any money in their pockets to purchase anything. This is a major question about the future for all of us. State ownership has been tried and failed, so how will governments raise revenue if there is no one  working to tax resulting in no welfare. Are we all to grow our own food and return to hunting rabbits, personally I do not have a clue! There is always the option to take up art, unfortunately today it seems dominated by computers.

Old Age should be the Elixer of Life.

 

Old Age should be the Elixir of Life.

As the western world continues its march towards longer and longer life expectancy, the question remains is it possible for societies to make better use of the lifetimes of experiences of the elderly. The continual decline of working population levels to support of our senior members in a welfare state becomes more   problematical. The building of retirement homes surely is not the only answer. The problem is not confined to Western cultures, currently Japan is also facing the pressing urgency of how to cope as the percentage of her elderly citizens continually to rises.

 

In welfare states, such as Britain and the Scandinavian countries the spiralling cost will become prohibitive. One obvious salutation is the need to revisit the idea of the meaning of the nuclear family.  Perhaps we need to revert to the family structures of previous generations were each generation is required to care for the economic wellbeing of both the young and the old. This age old salutation has been practiced for hundreds of years in Chinese culture. This is going to require a major rethink of our current philosophy, were the priority of personal economic success is the only meaning of life. Each generation has a vital role to play as we pass through the journey of life. Grandparents can play a major role in supporting and helping in the raising of grandchildren. They often act as a stabilising force.

 

Many senior citizens age prematurely due to a lack of purpose in their lives, often this is a side effect of living in aged care. The most important point and reason for living is the social need to participate in human activity. No one desires or should be discarded, they need to feel useful in whatever capacity they are able. Social responsibility enables the elderly to remain young at least in attitude and mental activity. Should the working life of individuals be increased, and if so how practical would such a policy be?

Generally it is not the mental capacity of individuals that first declines, but rather their physical state. A person who has spent a lifetime engaged in a mental occupation has a better chance of retaining that capacity and general vigour well into later life. On the other hand a person whose life experience has been hard physical work often appear to age more rapidly. This of course this is generalising, but often professional individuals retain their mental powers well into their nineties. However this need not necessarily always be the case, a farmer who can draw on a life time of experience is quite capable of contributing productively in terms of practical advice, or to carry out work within his physical capacity.

 

There appears to be no reason, why a vast number of elderly people could not continue to be usefully employed within their skill capacity. A part of the problem is the attitude of employers, but also there seems to be an opportunity for retirement homes to utilise the skills of their inmates for a few hours each day. Naturally the individual would need to be willing to engage in such work.  Everyone has useful skills that have economic value from cooking to repairing toys, such activity must be within the physical capability of the individual, men’s’ sheds are a good example. These activities could be of considerable economic benefit to both the senior person involved and the institution. Governments need to be encourage and fund such activities were possible for the economic, physical, and mental wellbeing of all concerned. How you choose to live your latter years is dependent on your inner strength and your view of the purpose of life.

The role of Education in a benifical life.

 

What are the main goals of education.

The never ending stream of graduates from Australian University, particularly from the faculties of Economic and Commerce, should cause any casual observer to ask, what is the most important purpose of education? What is the goal? Unitarianism  seems to be destroying what should be the main focus of our education system, namely helping human kind to see clearly what they ought to be and how they ought to live. It often seems to me that the world is being overrun by all sorts of theorists with little practical experience of the real world.The world in which we live. I know all this sounds very idealistic, but a sound broad view of the world in which we live is vital for the future of humankind. In our increasingly technical civilization, we need an educational system to teach us the right way to live, along with the ability to earn a living. So I am not suggesting that practical skills are not important, but there now seems to be a total focus on what degrees offer the best monetary rewards. Far too many students shy away from science, mathematics engineering,  subjects perceived as not financially rewarding.

 The never ending convey belt of graduates from Universities, many without any life experience, few social graces, and often little training in lateral thinking should alarm us all. After all they are the alleged leaders of tomorrow. Like many people, I view the current global economic meltdown as theory based implemented by young guns with very limited understanding of the possible implications of their actions, that theory will always fit all. It seems that often common sense has deserted many of our decision makers. Personal gain and vested interests have overwhelmed logic. Whether we like it or not the world is finite. Practical ethical thinking seems to have deserted our economic thinkers. Sound business practise should travel hand in hand with social conscious.

 Unfortunately early education, primary and secondary schools are not in much better shape. Most children’s school reports tell a parent next to nothing other than Jonnie is somewhere in the middle and is making progress! There seems to be little time spent teaching children how to add up or spell, let alone their responsibilities to each other and society in general. But they all know their rights, if not their responsibilities. In this country I have experienced shop assistants who seem unable to add two simple numbers together, let alone address more complex problems. Everyone talks about the crises in education in Australia, but little seems to be done. You would think mobile phones, iPod’s and so on would be banned from the classroom until students have demonstrated an ability to solve basic problems. If Australia does not take good stock of itself its future look bleak ,it will not be benefiting from the so called Asian Century, but may find itself among the also ran. I am still waiting for a political party to appear before the coming election to put together a coherent policy , a plan for the country, that has imagination, ethics and sound economic sense. It is possible to embrace them all, but this requires leaders with vision, delectation, and selflessness, not self interest. No doubt I am asking for too much.

Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage.

WHAT IS MEANT BY ETHNICITY?

When you ask most people what they are, they generally reply that they are generically what the country of their birth happens to be. Given this type of answer, I have often wondered in this multi-cultural world what exactly such a response means. How do we define who we are? To what degree does an individual’s  cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds play in defining who they are. This may seem to be a rather academic question, but with the  greatest historic migration of people all over the world taking place the question needs to be asked.

Australia has developed a fairly successful multi-cultural society over the last fifty years. There have been hiccups, but by most standards we have developed for the most part a tolerant society. Anyone living in the country for the required number of years is entitled to apply for citizenship. You may think this is normal, but there are European counties were new comers who have lived for several generations are denied such a privilege, the Turkish population in Germany comes to mind.

In this country there are people from every corner of the world who have lived in Australia for one to two hundred years, many decedents of Chinese miners from the 19^th cent .are still referred to as Chinese by some Australians. Afghan camel drivers from the last century are another case in point, but are these people still Chinese or Afghans, I think not, they would describe themselves as Australians.

What we need to look at is not physical appearances, or religion or what  other gauge we like to use, but rather how they see themselves as a part of this country. There is no doubt that various nationalities look back to their cultural roots and background to define who they are. This presupposes that people don’t evolve into something else when resettling into a new environment. Is a Malay Indian, Indian or Malay? At what point does a person stop belonging to one ethnic group and takes on the ethnicity of another. In reality every national group is a mixture of different cultures created over thousands of years.

In the end it is cultural practice that determines one’s ethnicity, how you see yourself. The original indigenous inhabitants of Australia are a good example, the vast majority are of mixed blood, some no more than one quarter indigenous, yet many disregard such genic material. This would suggest that majority genic background as far as they are concerned does not play a defining role. Religion can likewise be dismisses as most religions are all embracing no matter what your origins. Countries that like to see themselves  “racially pure” are no more than the result of migrations over the millennium. People who still like to think in such fixed terms need to take a cold shower. We should all be alarmed at the rise of groups who for whatever reason view multi-culturalism as something to be abandoned and distained. All societies are multi-cultural whether we like it or not. The formation in Australia of a political party recently advocating assimilation and the abandonment of the multi-cultural nature of the country need a serious rethink. Everyone has the right to see themselves in their own terms, and providing they live by the countries laws no harm is done. Eventually all will all become one.