A forgotten lesson?
In the 1830s Southern England was in turmoil. The landowners were adopting a new technology, threshing machines. Thousands of farm workers were laid off. Many had to move out of the cottages that came with their jobs. They protested but the ‘powers-that-be’ had no plan to look after them or their families. In the dark winter nights many of the hungry men destroyed the new machines and raided farms and shops to get food.
While the authorities, who did not know want to do with the unemployed, knew what to do about ‘criminals’! They sent in the army and arrested thousands of the men. Tossed them in prisons and ordered the judges to show the ‘criminals’ no mercy.
Here is a statement one judge made to a batch of the men found guilty: You will leave the country; all of you. You will see your friends and relations no more. For thought you will be transported for seven years only, it is not likely you will find yourself in a situation to return. You will be in a distant land at the expiration of your sentence. The land which you have disgraced will see you no more. The friends with whom you are connected will be parted from you for ever in this world. (A harsh sentence but 227 of their friends were condemned to death!)
That forgotten uprising in 1830 was a harbinger of the disruption and the challenges that came with the Industrial Revolution that was then emerging.
We are told that AI [Artificial Intelligence] will be even more disruptive than the Industrial Revolution. We can expect to have thousands and thousands of workers displaced by the new technology. The skills carefully developed, the knowledge they accumulated and their loyalty no longer needed or valued.
Will the lessons of the past help our future? Or will the displaced workers be forced to bare the heavy costs of progress.