Tax the robots, not the response of the Luddites to the technology of the 19th century but probably a more rational approach to the coming wave of RPA and AI. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, suggested this weekend that taxing robots that replace human jobs is a good idea. Terry Walby, CEO of thoughtonomy and expert in Automation said “I suspect it's designed to grab headlines and stimulate debate about the macroeconomic and societal impact of what is being called the fourth industrial revolution - robotics and AI. And it's true that policy makers need to consider the impact on everything from labour markets, to educational needs, to legal liability for the actions of autonomous entities, as the velocity of innovation and rate of adoption increases”. However, he believes “If it's a genuine suggestion, it's plain daft”. Tom Reuner of HfS Research noted that “The European Parliament is debating it, Finland has started a trial on "Universal Basic Income". Yet, our industry is largely on the side-lines. We need a debate on the ethics of AI and the retooling of society”.
Kerry Hallard, CEO of the Global Sourcing Association (GSA), says “We should focus on reinvention and not taxing innovation. Robotics are a positive to the future and will provide new, different jobs that require new skill sets. The short-term focus must be upon retraining displaced workers as part of constant reinvention. We are expecting the topic to be front and centre at our Symposium in June”.
The advance of robotics is unlikely to be the only evolution to the way we work over the coming years and decades. Longer working lives and the gig-economy are likely to have just as much of a seismic effect. This editor is cautious, taxing innovation is wrong, great ideas must be rewarded, but robotics could lead to a them and us society, manipulated very easily by politicians bent against globalisation and the business elite. We will need tax revenue to act as a safety net for workers left behind and that must come from somewhere. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
