[New Wave] The Paradox of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the 'Time Famine'

The New Year is always filled with hopeful expectations. Especially, technological advancements represented by the 4th Industrial Revolution have always been paired with promising futures. Autonomous vehicles are advertised as providing the leisure to enjoy rest or hobbies without the need to drive. Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has developed to a human level, instills the expectation that the day of liberation from tedious and annoying chores is not far off. It’s as if we are being told that the reason we lack time is because technology has not advanced enough.

But is that really the case? Looking at the history of technological progress, it is absolutely not. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Phenomena such as death from overwork or "burnout syndrome" (a condition where a person who was enthusiastically devoted to work experiences extreme physical and mental fatigue and becomes lethargic) have appeared in the late 20th century, a period of rapid technological advancement. The more advanced technologies and methods that save and efficiently manage time flood our lives, the more people paradoxically feel time-starved. The faster computers become, the more distant leaving work on time gets; the better home appliances perform, the more household chores multiply exponentially. The more people use advanced technology, the more they live with the words "hurry up" and "urgent."

This phenomenon is called "time famine." Why is it that despite the abundance of technologies that supposedly save time, modern people’s time becomes increasingly scarce? There are two analyses. First, the technologies that claim to save time are actually the main culprits stealing our time. Technologies that save time do not operate for free. Take autonomous vehicles as an example. The better the performance, the more expensive the price. And the earlier the product is released, the more expensive it is. We have to earn more money to purchase these technologies. So even though we are already exhausted and on the verge of collapse, we have to work more. How could owning such a car possibly compensate for the time spent and provide extra leisure? It seems unlikely. Because maintaining expensive products also costs money. Rather than having the leisure to enjoy the extra time created by autonomous vehicles in a dignified way, it is highly likely that people will wake up an hour earlier to catch up on lost sleep inside the autonomous vehicle.

The second reason lies in the acceleration of psychological rhythms, which causes people to feel unbearable boredom rather than enjoy leisure. When PCs first came out, it was common to drink a cup of coffee while the system booted. Nowadays, if the mouse click does not connect immediately, people impatiently hit the back button out of frustration. This impatience does not even tolerate that brief moment. Come to think of it, at some point, popular songs we listen to lost their intros and immediately rush to the climax. I suspect that around this time, children’s advanced learning also became intense. Ultimately, no matter how good time-saving technology is, it is useless if our minds become impatient.

We need to look at the 4th Industrial Revolution not only functionally but also from the perspective of life’s context and rhythm. Advanced technology is not about doing more work faster in the process of life. It should be technology that allows us to fully experience important virtues such as love, friendship, trust, and awe within the context of life. A high quality of life requires sufficient time and leisure. Just as agricultural technology solved the millennia-old problem of food famine, I believe time famine can also be solved with human wisdom. That is what will make the 4th Industrial Revolution a true revolution for humanity.

Lee Jang-ju, Director of Irak Digital Culture Research Institute

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.