“Capitalist production, therefore, develops technology, and the combining together of various processes into a social whole, only by sapping the original sources of all wealth – the soil and the labourer.” -Karl Marx
By Jugraj Singh
John Henry was a black American folk hero who worked on the railroads. In the folktale, John Henry, the fastest steel driver, takes up a challenge from a steam-powered rock drilling machine owner who boasts that his new machine can drill more rocks in less time than a human. The competition starts in the early morning and proceeds into the night. John Henry eventually beats the machine, but at a heavy price. Tragically, after being declared the winner, John Henry dies from exhaustion. John Henry is symbolic of humans faced with competition from efficient machines that can do more work than a human in less time. This tragic and cautionary folktale demonstrates that humans can beat machines, but the toll it takes on them (their life) is not worth it.
The West is looking to make artificial intelligence (AI) and robots compete with humans so as to maximize profits. The West either does not realize or care about the implications of rendering such a large number of humans jobless and ultimately making the human obsolete.
Western capitalism and democracy give three identities to humans: worker, consumer and voter. What the West does not realize is that replacing human workers with AI and robots will gravely affect two of these three identities. If humans do not work, how will they consume? This removal of two identities will threaten the survival of the capitalist system because it requires human workers to perpetually and mindlessly consume material goods and services.
A few years ago, I was at a car rental office in an airport in Florida. It was the first time that I saw a giant tablet-like screen called a kiosk where cars could be rented just by using the screen’s user interface and inputting data directly into the screen. I started noticing these kiosks at fast food restaurants in America and am now seeing such kiosks more commonly in fast food restaurants in Punjab; the local McDonald’s had installed three kiosks some months ago only to add yet another kiosk recently. Wherever these kiosks appear, human workers begin to disappear.
Whether co-existence can occur between humans and AI largely depends on the underlying economic and political system. Western capitalism is based upon exploitation of labor and resources, therefore human workers, and the taking away of all human values and ethics to turn people into consumers. Western democracy requires people to act as a vote bank to be abused largely between two fake parties while the ruling capitalist elite control real political power. Whether a democrat or a republican wins makes little difference to the white billionaire club with the likes of Warren Buffet, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, as it has a stranglehold on political power in America.
The ideal laborer for a western capitalist is a slave, one that would be entirely dependent upon the capitalist, would receive no payment for their labor, and have little to no freedom. AI is much closer to a slave than a human worker, therefore AI is favored by capitalists. Humans also have other problems that limit their ability to work, such as basic biological needs: breathing air, drinking water, eating food, bathroom breaks and sleep. AI and robots do not have any of these needs. Furthermore, humans are at risk of illness and injury. If a human breaks a bone or suffers an amputation, the recovery can take weeks to months or even longer. If an AI robot suffers a similar injury, a replacement part could be changed or transplanted in a matter of minutes to hours.
Japan has an ancient Eastern culture but is economically and politically the most western capitalist and most western democratic and amongst the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Where has western capitalism, western democracy and technological advancement left Japan? Japan is the best example of the endpoint of western capitalism and western democracy.
Japan faces an existential crisis. Masako Mori, adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has given a dire warning, “If we go on like this, the country will disappear.” Mori said this after the Japanese Ministry of Health announced that in 2022, almost twice as many Japanese died than were born: 799,728 births and more than 1.58 million deaths. According to data from the World Bank, at 48 years, Japan has the second oldest median age in the world, and the proportion of people aged 65 and over is more than 29%; a shrinking fertility rate of 1.34 children per woman; and a 2023 birth rate of 7.013 per thousand people (United Nations). Japan’s current population is 125,364,748. An article by Michael Cook on Mercator.net explains that in 2020, researchers predicted Japan’s population would decline from 128 million in 2017 to less than 53 million in 2100. This is a loss of more than 75 million people in less than 83 years. There is no need for anyone to fight Japan; western capitalism and democracy are doing an excellent job of ensuring that the Japanese go extinct.
The East has to balance advancements in technology with keeping the human being relevant, creative, productive and a useful member of society. A re-think of society by the East is needed because AI and robots are here to stay and western capitalism cannot balance technology and human needs. The East must come up with an evolved economic system in which humans can work with AI, but do not have to compete with it.
On a drive some months ago to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, I saw a giant display by Samsung. The display was of two hands folded together in the traditional Indian greeting of Namaste. One hand was a human hand and one was bionic (robotic). The idea of co-existence between humans and AI was beautiful to look at and certainly gave me hope that the East can find a way to balance technology and human concerns for a better future. I conclude with lyrics from the Hindi film Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978):
Rotey huey aatey hain saab
Everyone enters this world crying
Hasta hua joh jayega
The one who leaves this world laughing
Woh muqaddar ka sikandar
He’ll be the Alexander (conqueror) of his destiny
Jaan-e-man kehlayega
My dear, he will gain this title (of Alexander)
Woh sikandar kya tha jisne zulm se jeeta jahaan
Who was that Alexander (a conqueror) who won the world by cruelty?
Pyar se jeetey dilon ko woh jhuka de aasmaan
The one who wins hearts with love can make the sky bow down
Joh sitaron par kahani pyar ki likh jayega
He’ll write the story of love on the stars
Woh muqaddar ka sikandar
He’ll be the Alexander (conqueror) of his destiny
Jaan-e-man kehlayega
My dear, he will gain this title (of Alexander)
Jugraj Singh is a writer who writes on politics and other world issues for DESIBUZZCanada.