I think computers will take over manufacturing and production completely, due to emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Computer Visions. If this is the reality, then where is the job I have been promised? Will I have to starve to death or survive elsewhere?
I believe you have heard of the Proto-industrial era (before industrialization), which was the first revolution. This was a purely agrarian period in which the wealthiest people were mainly farmers. I know you are aware of the slave trade – a trade pattern which transported our ancestors to Europe to work on huge plantations. Countries such as Great Britain, France, USA, Germany and many more took part in this trade.
The second revolution was industrial. During this era, the rich were those who owned industries. This era is called the machine age, simply because machines were used to replace the embodied labour which was prominent in the proto era. In both eras mentioned above, the physical body was engaged more.
The Post-industrial (after industrialization) era is what I term, “Invisiblinization”. I derived this term from the words, “Invisible and Industrialization.” Others call it virtual world, computer age, digital age, etc. People who live in this era get richer every day. Such people include the likes of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Bill Gates of Microsoft, etc. In this era, you do not necessarily have to use your physical body as experienced during proto and industrial period. The important part of your body needed by all employers is the brain. Computers are no longer seen as a competitive advantage, but a tool necessary for performing both simple and complex tasks. Your explicit and tacit knowledge becomes the most competitive advantage tool for employers to hire.
Do you wonder why after submitting your CV for a job, you have to go for an interview after you have been shortlisted for the position?
Let us think about these few questions as well. Why are manufacturing companies in Ghana and elsewhere collapsing rapidly? Why do you think the service sector is contributing significantly to Ghana’s economic growth?
Everybody is a manager in this era and physical offices are no longer needed to make billions of money overnight. In the era of “invisiblinization,” several valuable jobs are created out of a single job, unlike the previous eras.
I think the government should be looking critically in the direction of “invisiblinization” in order to create more jobs for the populous youth.
By:
Torgbuiga Akpo Ashiakpor VI
Information Systems Advocate.
