[In-Depth Look] The Small Things Taken Away by Technology

Kim Dong-chul, Ph.D. in Engineering, Advisor at Bespin Global

The electronic organizer that came out in the mid-1990s had a calculator with some added memory functions. It was quite heavy, making it inconvenient to carry in a pocket. I stored customer phone numbers and their favorite songs, using it quite effectively. Before using the electronic organizer, I memorized about 200 customer phone numbers, but now, with smartphones, I even struggle to remember my family members' phone numbers. I have also forgotten the titles of songs I used to enjoy singing at karaoke. This is probably a national phenomenon. It might be worth researching how the spread of digital technology is causing brain functions to atrophy while the motor nerves in our fingers evolve.

Even as I write this manuscript, I find myself arranging characters on a computer keyboard. It is rare nowadays to write long texts with a pen. When writing by hand until calluses form on the fingers, each person develops their own handwriting style, and occasionally, a beautiful script emerges. Now, we live in a world where we use stylish fonts. Learning elegant handwriting has become a field unrelated to my abilities.

It is uncertain what kind of world humanity will ultimately face due to the emergence and development of technology. There is a book that well describes relatively recent trends. In "The End of Work" (2005), authored by Jeremy Rifkin, the technological developments and resulting industrial revolutions in Europe and the United States are described, and it predicts that future labor will shift from manufacturing to nonprofit sectors such as social services. During the early industrial revolution, mass production was achieved through automation, and as Say's Law suggests, economists at the time believed that supply would create its own demand. However, mass production replaced workers' jobs with machines, and humanity experienced a reduction in labor-class jobs.

The hierarchical organization in the United States was advantageous for mass production but revealed irrational elements such as excessive inventory during the production process. Additionally, communication and collaboration between teams were not very effective. At that time, IBM in the U.S. reportedly took four weeks to prepare a quotation for a customer using the traditional method of exchanging documents and materials between teams. Now, it takes only a few hours. American companies adopted Japan's Lean production methodology and horizontal team organizations to effectively respond to the market, transitioning from the existing mass production system and hierarchical organization. This process led to a significant reduction in middle management jobs. Moreover, mass-produced goods could not handle market saturation, resulting in the paradoxical situation of having to reduce production to meet demand. The market situation itself proved Say's Law wrong.

If technology takes something away, might it also bring something back, like the law of conservation of mass? By thinking differently, we might discover great insights from differences in interpretation. Am I an unemployed person receiving unemployment benefits because technology took my job? Or has technology replaced my work, gifting me a human life to enjoy leisure time? If so, unemployment benefits could be considered as vacation expenses. Even in advanced countries, most education does not properly teach how to enjoy leisure life well. Ordinary people are programmed to continue economic activities somehow until retirement.

If technology is giving people the precious gift of time, wouldn't it be good to broadly consider what can be done with that time? Revisiting the bucket list from youth, which was set aside while living a tough life, might provide some hints. Jeremy Rifkin, the author of "The End of Work" cited above, recommends volunteer activities.

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