KOREA FOUNDATION

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future
Written by Martin Ford, translated into Korean by Changhee Lee
Basic Books, 2015 / Korean translation published by Sejong Books in 2016

The Republic of Korea is currently under the influence of COVID-19. A considerable number of salaried workers and wage earners are working from home, and much of our routine daily activities, including school classes, are being conducted online. Corporate closures and growing unemployment are given daily news focus. We are in a very abnormal situation incurred by the pandemic. However, as unfamiliar as it is, it is not so different from the future that robots may bring for us. You could even say that Korea is experimenting on its own future in advance. According to Ford, the future will arrive in the form of robots and artificial intelligence replacing the physical and mental labor of human beings, much like what we see today in Korea.

High rates of unemployment and massive overconsumption are top-priority problems that must be solved, at least for the benefit of future generations. Talk about universal basic income and “disaster-related basic income” is rapidly gaining in popularity, and it is no coincidence that discussion about basic income started in Silicon Valley alongside predictions of a future with robots. These ideas and more, all of which are featured in this book, spark an argument in favor of basic income. Readers will find the book inspiring as they read it in the context of Korea’s current reality.

Written by Geun Lee (KF President)

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