United Kingdom: Where does the principle of social responsibility stand? Robots are killing jobs and increasing anti-social trends

We talk about technology and about how beautiful technology is. Some bits of technology are obviously very attractive and rewarding for many, but other bits of technology can create social mayhem. Every year, policians of all political colours talk about rates of unemployment, but when it comes to unemployment rates, a single piece of equipment has created a lot of unemployment and especially amongst those more vulnerable in society.

I went to my local supermarket. It was a beehive of activity and the shopping experience was very much a social experience. I knew the attendants and the attendants knew me since I had been going to the same shop day in and day out for several years.

Yesterday, I went to the same local supermarket and it was as quiet as a funeral parlour. All I could see was a queue of puzzled customers and a security guard that had to get out of his way every three minutes to help customers that were struggling to use the self-check out machines that often get stuck while you are registering your shopping.

When shops or banks are not closed down straight away, they usually incorporate self-checkout machines and other automatic equipment. The more automatic equipment is introduced the less of a reason to return as a customer. I value people and I value the social experience. Shopping is not just about putting things into a basket and registering the goods on a robotic machine.

Politicians talk a lot about the importance of building up communities. They are not going to build up communities with robotic machines that are destroying jobs and ruining social experiences. 

Something similar was proposed when the closure of ticket offices in railway stations was mentioned. Should you have a heart attack, should you need any especific information, should you be attacked at the station, you can ask the electronic machine on the wall to help you. This kind of technology is dehumanising and anti-social. It is destroying the very same things that we say that we want in society.

Looting and shoplifting are on the way up. I am sure that looters and shoplifters will care very little about a solitary security guard that would not want to put his or her life in danger by trying to prevent robberies. If you were alone inside a shop and a crowd of undesirables entered the shop to take everything they want or can get from inside the shop, would you stand on their way? A local shop was targetted so many times in a single month that the shop was closed down for good and all this happens because of misuse of technology. Society is about people. Society is not about robotic machines that replaced people. 

Automation will not just kill the high street. It will kill local communities.

Trying to maximise earnings for shareholders killing local communities is bad economics and the beginning of a social experiment that will lead to violence.

From banks, pubs, local supermarkets, et cetera, there is a trend to eliminate humans to replace them with robots. Big companies ignore at their peril that local branches are inextricably linked to the local community that is only possible when there are local jobs.

Why do I still visit a certain area? Because I see a vibrant community. I don't visit a given area to be received by holes in the walls - the image created by shops that are no more and all is left is signs indicating that what used to be an integral part of the area is no more.

The more empty spaces the less the appeal to visit a certain area. Too many parts of London - and not just London - look like areas that have been hit by a tornado. It is reported that looting and shoplifting are going up. Well, rundown areas are a magnet for crime.

To me uncontrolled automation is the way to Hell. I do remember the Encyclical Rerum Novarum about the social importance of work. Robots do not create nor sustain local communities. People employed locally constitute local communities. When jobs disappear locally, communities disappear and entire areas become ghost towns. Haven't we learnt anything?

Why do people leave the areas where they live? The lack of a viable local economy. It has been happening across the United Kingdom. Suddenly, you end up with empty high streets and empty houses rotting away. Local infrastructure is wiped out. No banks, no post offices, no pubs, no schools, no healthcare, no jobs. There is no even a reason to have public transport because the number of those needing to use public transport has fallen dramatically and maintaining public transport is no longer a viable proposition. In far too many areas of Britain, schools are closing down. Why? There are not enough children.

Uncontrolled automation destroys local communities and once people leave a certain area and there is no one to use automation automation itself becomes redundant.

A visit to some local council headquarters is a clear image of what has been going on. Local authorities spent vast amounts of money in technology. In one hall alone there were more than 24 computer terminals, but there are only one or two people dealing with customers. So you have got 21 computers terminals that are seldom or never used.

Self-help kiosks installed in NHS hospitals have in most cases being withdrawn. The investment was made at huge expense. The idle pieces of equipment lie around creating confusion until they are finally removed.

Once again, uncontrolled automation does not solve problems. It creates problems and destroys lives.