The OpEd page article, “Should robots be nationalised?” (October 26), highlights the allure of short-term gains that such technological changes offer against the effects they could have on human engagement with work in the future. Work is not merely a source of livelihood. It is deeply connected with ways of living and therefore a source of meaning and fulfilment. Today we are seeing not only automation but an ‘autonomisation’ of work tools and processes, for example driverless cars. This could lead to reduced dependence on human labour and potentially the forced abdication of our cognitive and cultural engagement with work. The challenge today is to shape technology such that it empowers people rather than replaces them. Ethically grounded technology would progress and serve society rather than disrupt it.
Gideon Arulmani,
Bengaluru
