Computers I: Effects of automation

But without going into labour issues, which are far beyond the scope of this topic, it is probably true that computers and the automation of industries over the past decade have been a blessing to the environment (not to mention human rights, but this is again out of my range). This may surprise many people.

It is obvious that the effects of automation from the Industrial Revolution to only very recently were environmentally disastrous. The advent of “real” pollution, that is chemical and not biological waste, coincided with the first factories, and the first steam trains and ships. I have already argued that it is unrealistic to hope for or even want a mass return to pre-industrial ways, so, given that factories and businesses will continue to exist, what is the best way to cut down on waste and emissions and other environmental hazards?

One negative effect on nature, which is often overlooked, is the effect of human traffic. Transporting people not only pollutes, but can spread disease. For example, Western Australian forests are being attacked by a tree-killing fungus called dieback, which is spread by cars and trucks and even pedestrians travelling on unpaved roads. This is not the only harmful organism that can be spread by humans who must travel through tracts of natural landscape to work. Even if we could use solar cars which would not produce harmful emissions, the cars would still spread disease. In this light, it would appear that the fewer workers travelling to factories, refineries and mines, which are often located away from cities, the better for the environment. The way to cut down on workers is to increase automation. The more robots doing the work, the fewer supervisors and workers needed.

As automation technology and robotics are refined, the amount of energy required to work the systems is lessened. It is ironic perhaps to realise that the kind of factory that employs human labourers usually consumes similar amounts of energy to the kind of factory that employs advanced robotics. This is only because the factories that cannot afford to buy and install patented technologies are often those that cannot afford to adopt current energy-saving machines. Travelling through former East Germany shows the stark difference between the manufacturing methods of East and West. The Eastern Bloc countries were unable to afford new technologies, and they also had employment policies that encouraged factories that had many human workers. Using “people power” instead of electricity did not save on energy consumption because what electricity was being used was produced by old, more polluting means, and the machinery used was older and more inefficient.

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