The theme at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting was the tech revolution and the threats and opportunities that exponential digital advances present governments, businesses, and civil society. I was there, having been selected to represent the United Kingdom. I currently lobby governments and politicians to address poverty, and at this 2,500-strong meeting of top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals, and journalists gathering to discuss top issues facing the world, I met with leaders to press them to work with me and my colleagues to combat the ever-growing gap between rich and poor.
In order to be a party ready to govern the nation, Labour must embrace this Fourth Industrial Revolution or risk becoming irrelevant in a changed world. Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’ speech called for a new Britain to respond to scientific revolutions taking place over fifty years ago. We are now at the cusp of a convergence of biological, physical, and digital transformations which will cause radical shifts affecting all industries. To be an electable outfit over the next five general elections and beyond, Labour must work with forward-thinking businesses and entrepreneurs to usher in a new age of the red heat of technology.
At Davos there was talk of a world with driverless cars that get us to work, there was a reception with a robot that served guests beer, and people joked about apocryphal visions of smart robots rising against human beings. But it is the less-Hollywood shifts that should concern Labour most, including fundamental changes to the labour market, the opportunities for economic growth, and the implications to inequality and social solidarity.
The labour market will look dramatically different from what it is today. Automation is predicted to make markets more efficient and lead to higher productivity, but may mean less jobs and therefore less consumption creating a cycle which is a cause for concern for the future of Britain’s economy. There will be groups of people who will be out of jobs and certain industries will cease to exist. But in the same way that the creation of the airplane led to the need for pilots, the tech revolution will create new opportunities. Where will the unimagined jobs of tomorrow come from, and how can we prepare our future workforce to be ready to compete on a global scale? Labour must answer such questions and paint a vision for the country for how to respond.
To the international business community, the United Kingdom is seen as a safe offshore place to do business. Labour must open up its arms and embrace responsible entrepreneurs and business leaders who will create the jobs of tomorrow and make society better by producing the next groundbreaking products and services like the iPhone and Google search. Parts of the private sector, which have operations worldwide and employ hundreds of thousands of people, have a much bigger and wider scope than the state or voluntary sector to bring change in shaping attitudes and building infrastructure, and conducting groundbreaking research that could bring unforeseen medical improvements. Labour should partner with them to create quality jobs and useful innovations for all to benefit from. Encouraging the expansion of tech hubs can help us develop a new generation of small- and medium-sized enterprises, find the Bill Gates and Sheryl Sandbergs of the UK, and make us an attractive home for big businesses. But there is a balance that must be struck between flexibility for employers and protection for employees. Our pitch to the country must offer an inclusive economy which delivers a triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental progress.
How will the revolution impact inequality and social solidarity? On one hand there has been a democratisation of information and an equalisation of access to knowledge, but there is a risk that the proceeds gained through this growth cluster amongst the tech-aristocracy, the creators and owners of technology. Labour must be the party that ensures that this revolution brings prosperity for all, not just the few, and should think about how it can work with governments worldwide and supranational structures to develop fair tax systems. Using innovations such as the shared and collaborative economy models of Uber and Airbnb could improve public services for all at a time while the global economy is still shaky. This is only the start of the fourth industrial revolution which presents an opportunity to create a new social contract with the new businesses and bring an age of inclusive capitalism.
These changes pose a tough question for Labour: Does it protect the past to lose out on the future, or protect the future by letting go of the past? Keir Hardie established a political party to represent workers’ interests in parliament and Tony Blair won three elections in part due to his understanding and anticipation of where the world was moving and bringing the party and country with him. If Hardie started the party today, how would he have organised the party? The Labour party must ready itself to lead our country through the fourth industrial revolution.
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Alvin Carpio was selected to represent the United Kingdom at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos
Although this is obviously a key theme we must not ignore, we must take care to note that never in the past have we been able to predict in advance what will constitute revolutionary change despite signs at the time. I am especially cautious about religious type missions or magic bullet type fads.
Verity – you’re right to say that we’re often pretty bad at forecasting the future, however we should use all of the information and knowledge at any given time that is available to us in order to prepare for likely scenarios. Leadership, too, is about sharing a vision about the direction we should head to and – through policy, speeches, and the written word – can enable people to adapt to that direction.
To create a vision, ask who, what, where, when how and why. Apply this template to Society, Organisations, Sectors, Geography, Jobs and People. Then look at the value proposition – what’s in it for us? Why change? etc. Quite simple. Just takes a bit of concentration.
In theory, I’m in favour of the motherhood and apple pie principle that we have to open up the economy to innovation and inclusive business growth. Unfortunately, the record of the Blair government was chequered, with outsourcing and rapid deindustrialisation undermining the living standards of many unskilled and skilled workers. The question for social democrats remains: how do we achieve inclusive business growth? There needs to be much more thought about this amongst ‘moderate’ Labour if it is to regain electoral trust.