1That seminar yesterday on automation and the future of work was really good, wasn't it?
2Looking at the first industrial revolution in Britain in the 19th century
3and seeing how people reacted to massive change was a real eye opener.
4Yes.
5It was interesting to hear how people felt about automation then
6and what challenges they faced.
7I didn't know that first started with workers in the textile industry.
8With those protesting workers called the Luddites
9destroying their knitting machines because they were so worried about losing their jobs.
10Yes, and ultimately, they didn't achieve anything.
11And anyway, industrialisation created more jobs than it destroyed.
12Yes, that's true,
13but it probably didn't seem a positive thing at the time.
14I can see why the Luddites felt so threatened.
15I know.
16I'm sure I would have felt the same.
17The discussion about the future of work was really optimistic for a change.
18I like the idea that work won't involve doing boring, repetitive tasks,
19as robots will do all that.
20Normally, you only hear negative stuff about the future.
21Bit too optimistic, don't you think?
22For example, I can't see how people are about to have more leisure time,
23when all the evidence shows people are spending longer than ever at work.
24No, that's true.
25And what about lower unemployment?
26I'm not so sure about that.
27Perhaps in the long term,
28but not in the foreseeable future.
29And I expect most people will be expected to work until they're much older
30as everyone's living much longer.
31That's already happening.
32I enjoyed all that stuff on how technology's changed some jobs
33and how they're likely to change in the near future.
34Yeah, incredible.
35Like accountants.
36You might think all the technological innovations would have put them out of a job,
37but in fact there are more of them than ever.
38They're still really in demand and have become far more efficient.
39Right. That was amazing.
40Twenty times more accountants in this country compared to the 19th century.
41I know.
42I'd never have thought that demand for hairdressing would have gone up so much in the last hundred years.
43One hairdresser for every 287 people now,
44compared to one for over 1,500.
45Yeah because people's earning power has gone up so they can afford to spend more on personal services like that.
46But technology hasn't changed the actual job that much.
47No, they've got hairdryers, etc.
48but it's one job where you don't depend on a computer...
49The kind of work that administrative staff do has changed enormously, thanks to technology.
50Even 20 years ago there were secretaries doing dictation and typing.
51Yes. Really boring compared to these days,
52when they're given much more responsibility and higher status.
53A lot of graduates go in for this kind of work now...
54I'd expected there to be a much bigger change in the number of agricultural workers in the 19th century.
55But the 1871 census showed that roughly 25% of the population worked on the land.
56Yeah, I'd have assumed it would be more than 50%.
57Now it's less than 0.2%.
58Hmm... What about care workers?
59They barely existed in the 19th century
60as people's lifespan was so much shorter.
61But now of course this sector will see huge growth.
62Yeah, and it's hard enough to meet current demand.
63The future looks quite bleak for bank clerks.
64They've been in decline since ATMs were introduced in the 80s.
65And technology will certainly make most of the jobs they do now redundant, I think.
66I agree, although the situation may change.
67It's very hard to predict what will happen.