Background Guide: The Challenges of Automation

Introduction to the problem

Every day, we read headlines about new technologies that promise to make our
lives easier: driverless cars, computer-driven healthcare, automated assembly
lines, online personal assistants. Companies that offer these new technologies
promise us huge benefits. In return, they enjoy the prospect of sky-high profits
from more and more eager consumers.

The many benefits of new technologies are impressive. But, theres a flipside to
consider as we look to the future.
Researchers at Oxford University and other leading institutions have concluded
that new technologies will likely put large numbers of people out of work.

In short, as new technologies continue to make our lives easier, they make more
and more workers lives less secure.
So, while an increasingly automated world promises more scientific
advancement, convenience and economic growth, it brings uncertainty to
developed and developing economies alike.
How high will unemployment rates go? Will income inequality rise sharply if
most people have no jobs? And, will that inequality cause exploitation or crime or
conflict in developed and developing economies alike?

How New Technologies Help

We know from our study of history that new
technologies do a great deal of good for economic
growth - in both developed and developing economies.
A rapid increase in employment and daily wages
accompanied Britains industrial revolution in the 18th
and 19th centuries, for example. Britains total economic
output grew substantially thanks to the growing labour
forces efforts; workers contributions to the national economy more than
quadrupled during from the mid-1700s to the late 1800s.
More-recent evidence of widespread benefits of technology and automation
include:
New Technology /
Automation

Spread of
Mobile Phones

3D
Printing
Use of
Robots

New Approaches to
Energy Storage

Benefits

The spread of mobile-phone technology has enabled

more communication and more business across
borders. According to the United Nations Development
Programme, the number of mobile-phone subscriptions
now exceeds seven billion. This is changing the way
people work, innovate, interact and do business.
3D printing is improving peoples lives. They generate
human tissue and artificial limbs, for example.
Robots have helped make the workplace safer, as some
take on jobs that are too dangerous, such as locating
radiation sources. Robots are also crucial in efforts to
revive or preserve manufacturing where labour is
scarce or expensive.
Energy storage will allow maximum use of solar and
wind energy, potentially bringing access to affordable
electricity to the 1.2 billion people who do not have it. In
due time, energy storage could also make electric cars
more affordable and transform electricity
gridsproviding new jobs.

Source: Chapter 3 (pp80-81) of The United Nations Development Programmes

Work for Human Development Report (2015)

How New Technologies Hurt

For all of its promise, automation takes away jobs. How, exactly? Consider the
following.
As driverless cars inch closer to the market, what happens to taxi drivers, to
the men and women who drive delivery vans, to bus drivers?
As computer programs play a more central role in helping people to
manage their own health, what happens to general practitioners?
With software increasingly able to take statistics and write stories about
them, what happens to news writers and journalists?
As automated bill pay makes it easier for companies to bill and collect
payment from customers, what happens to bookkeepers, bill collectors and
others who work in accounts offices?

The following graphic from Professors Frey and Osborne illustrates the threat
that automation poses to work as we know it.

In other words, Professors Frey and Osborne argue that the following labour
sectors are very much at risk as automation continues.

At-risk
Labour Sector

Examples of
Jobs at risk

Transportation
& Logistics

- truck and van drivers

- warehouse workers

Office Support

- administrative assistants
- office managers

Production
& Manufacturing

- assembly-line and factory

workers

Service

hotel workers
restaurant servers
customer service agents
retail workers

Occupations that appear to be least at risk to automation - those in financial

services, science, engineering, education, the arts - tend to require more formal
education over longer periods of time. They also tend to rely on creative-thinking
and interpersonal skills that are not easily mastered by machines or robots.
For example, think about how your teacher approaches her or his work. During
class on any given day, she or he needs to determine quickly if students
understand a concept or reading or math problem and then figure out how best
to address any confusion. Your teacher needs to think on her/his feet, based not
only on the questions her/his students ask but also on what the teacher already
knows about the students and their individual skill sets. This intuitive and
comprehensive work is challenging for robots to do well.
As a result, Professors Frey and Osborne argue that more education and more
training in creative and social skills (eg., understanding why people react to
things the way they do, building consensus, persuading others to change their

minds) are essential if workers in at-risk jobs wish to overcome the threats of
automation.

What New Technologies Mean for Lesser Economically Developed Countries

(LEDCs)

What Can The United Nations Do?

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Department of Economic
and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and International Labour Organization (ILO) have
already started to consider both the benefits and threats of new technologies.1

More access to technology promises economic benefits for developing countries,

and it will bring even more conveniences to consumers in developed countries.
But, new technologies threaten labour as we know it.
Following are some potential strategies for addressing these threats. Consider
these as you learn more about the topic in preparation for writing a position
paper.
Note. You are strongly encouraged to come up with your OWN strategies to solve this problem, as well.

Strateg
y
How?

Regulation and Legislation

A. Encourage Member States to pass specific types of
legislation
a. Example 1 Tax those companies that are developing and
profiting from new technologies; monies collected from those
companies would then go to workers who lose jobs because of
the new technologies
b. Example 2 Tax the wealthiest members of ones country;
monies collected from the wealthiest of ones country can then
be given to workers who are losing their jobs
c. Example 3 Regulate the transfer of new technologies from
companies that discover them to companies that will make
workers redundant because of the new technologies

B. Pass a binding treaty or convention that regulates practices

and behaviors in Member States workplaces
-

Questions
to consider

A binding treaty or convention would ensure that all Member

States of the United Nations follow the same protocols to
preserve the rights of workers in increasingly automated
workplaces

1. Might taxing companies that develop new technologies discourage

innovation? Might innovation become too costly?
2. If a government gives collected tax money to unemployed workers, will
those workers have any incentive to find new work or acquire new skills?

Links to each of these organizations Websites may be found in the list of Research Links that follows.

3. Should governments have a right to control how new technologies are

shared and used in the marketplace?

Strateg
y

Universal Basic Income (UBI)

How?

Encourage Member States to pass legislation that requires

governments to provide all citizens with a basic income
-

Questions
to consider

By giving each and every citizen money to live off of, governments will
ensure that loss of jobs due to new technologies and automation does
not lead to widespread poverty, unrest or rebellion
By giving each and every citizen money to live off of, governments will
also ensure that workers who have lost jobs due to new technologies
dont have to worry about where money will come from to buy food
and pay rent; with a basic income, these unemployed workers will
have time to try to learn new skills that might be able to help them
find a new job

1. Will citizens lose the incentive to find work or learn new skills if the
government guarantees them a basic income to pay for the necessities of
life?
2. How will governments have enough money to pay every citizen a basic
income? Will governments need to tax the best-performing companies and
wealthiest entrepreneurs? If so, will that encourage the best-performing
companies and wealthiest entrepreneurs to leave countries where UBI is
required by law?

What is a Basic Income?

From Basic Income Earth Network

Strategy Education
How?

Encourage Member States to create educational opportunities

for at-risk labourers to learn required skills
-

By developing training programs for and offering schooling to at-risk

workers (and workers who have already been made redundant
because of new technologies), national governments will help to
ensure that these workers will be able to find work in the future.

Support research into new types of work that will thrive amidst
the latest technologies
-

What
questions
do you
think
should be
considered
?

Perhaps the most important step Member States governments can

take, supporting research into new types of work will help to ensure
Member States long-term economic growth and socio-political
stability

Key Questions to Consider

Who their trading bloc is.
What sort of jobs you have and how they will be effected.

If you are highly industrial how would mechanization affect you?

Agricultural how would mechanization affect you?
How mightg the fact that your competitions are able to mechanize and
you not affect you?
What would it mean if robots planted and sowed the fields in your country
instead of farmers?

Further Sources of Information

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
ttp://www.undp.org/
h
Human Development Report 2015
ttp://report.hdr.undp.org/
h
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
ttps://www.un.org/development/desa/en/
h
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
ttp://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
h
Fundamental Conventions of the ILO
ttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_095895.pdf
h
ASEAN In Transformation: The future of jobs at risk of automation
ttp://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/2016/asean_in_transf_2016_r2_future.pdf
h
Basic Income Earth Network
http://basicincome.org/

RESEARCH TOOLS

How to prepare for this conference:

Learn general facts about your country and complete Template 1. Good websites to help
with this research are:
- BBC Country Profiles
- CIA Factsheet

Learn about your country and the topic (starting with the Background Guide). You should
also read your letter from your committee chair

If your school is new to MUN, come to our training session in January.

Research about your country and the topic and complete Template 2.

Do further research and creative thinking to come up with some potential solutions to the
topic.

Write your Position Paper (Use the Position Paper Template, and then cut and paste your
work into a new document. See the sample position paper on the website for guidance on
format).

Email your position paper to us by Feb 10 to westlondonmun@gmail.com.

In the subject line of the e-mail, please put:
Your country, your committee.
In the body of the email put:
Your name.
Your school.
Your country.
Your committee.
The topic (Drones or Technology)

Turn the most important ideas from your position paper into a 1 minute
speech (optional).

For top tips on being a good conference delegate, please go to

http://bestdelegate.com/mun-made-easy-how-to-get-started-with-model-united

Template 1: General Country Research

Country Name: ______________________________
Research Task
Neighbouring
Countries

Key Exports

Why this important to

know.
You might be affected by
the economies and
technological know-how
of these countries. They
might also be your close
allies.
This is how you make
your money.

Form of
Government
(Democracy?
Dictatorship?)

Note Just because your

country says it is a
democracy, does not
mean it is true!

Languages spoken

This might help you to

identify allies.

Religion

Religion can determine

your countrys social
policies, culture, and
allies.

Place on the
corruption Index.

Highly corrupt countries

can have weak services,
weak economies and poor
governments.

Place on the
Human Rights
Development
Index.

This suggests your level of

economic and social
development.

GDP Overall

This indicates your size

and overall
wealth/power.

GDP Per Capita.

This indicates how

wealthy an average
individual may be.

Major sectors of
your national
economy

This will suggest the

extent to which your
workers are at-risk in an
increasingly automated
world.

Member of
Regional
organizations?

You often will work with

other countries in your
region.

Foreign Aid
Do you receive or
give foreign aid?
If you receive who
do you get it from?
History
What has been the
history of your
countrys
economic
development?
Were you
exploited by a
colonial power?
Did the economy
develop because
of very limited

Ex. Organization of
American States,
Organization of African
Unity, European Union,
NATO, OPEC.
You may be careful about
offending countries that
give you aid!

government
interference? Or,
has the
government
always had a
major role in the
economy?
Template 2: Further Research: Your Country and Automation
How educated is your
country? Literacy, high
school/university
diploma, professional
degree rates?
Does your country have
the ability to train
workers who lose their
jobs in higher skills?

How organised is your

country?
Transport, civic
administration, law and
order, official
employment?
Would the further
implementation of
machinery in everyday
life be feasible in the
near future given your
infrastructure?
Does your country have
energy supplies? If so,
what sorts, what
quantities and what
ability to access?
Renewable (solar panels,
wind mills, marine
current power), natural

gas, nuclear energy, oil,

coal?
Has your nation already
made stunning moves to
automate?
Ex. Self-driving cars
If so/not, why have they
not? Is it realistic that
they ever will?

Given your countrys

economy, what sort of
impact might
automation have? Who
might lose their jobs?
How might automation
help you?

Position Paper Template

Committee:
Country:
Delegate name:
School:
Introduction and
importance of
the topic.
Why is the topic of
automation/mech
anization
important for
your committee to
address?
What are the
causes and effects
of this issue?
National
Situation
How does this
issue affect your
country or region.
What actions have
you taken in your
own country or
region to address
the problem?

International
Actions
So far there has
been little
international
action on this
issue. If you have
taken any steps to
help others adjust
to technological
change, describe
the in this
paragraph.

Terms you might

want to use:
Economic Terms
Means of Production
Capital
Owners
Profit
Cost
Infrasturcture
Labor
Resources
Regulation
Demand
Corruption
Redundancy
Tax Havens
Tax Evasion
Inequality
Intellectual Property
Patents
Adaptation
Subsidies
Public Education System
Welfare
Employee benefits
Universal Basic Income
Technological Terms
Android
Cyborg

What should be
done?
What would your
country like the
UN to do that
would
1) Prevent,
decrease or
address job losses,
or other issues,
due to
automation?
2) help people
who have lost
their jobs to
machines?
3) Minimize other
harmful effects of
automation
(economic
inequality, health
and safety, risks
etc)
4) Maximising the
benefits of
automation for all
When you have
your ideas ask
yourself:
1) Are they
specific?
2) Are they
realistic?
3) How will these
proposals be paid
for?
4) How do they
affect other
nations as well?