The war in the Ukraine and Rusian sanctions is creating power shortages and rising prices throughout the world for oil, gas and coal, not to mention food.
Here in Australia, at least on the east coast, gas prices are soaring and the fossil fuel power grid is on the verge of shutdown. Not that there is a shortage of power generation but the coal price for export is so high that they lose money by running the generators.
Old technology is causing increasing breakdowns and many coal fired stations are bring forward their shutdown dates.
Years of neglect of the screamingly obvious need to move to renewables by the previous federal government has left most of Australia in this position. Except for Western Australia.
The government here is running trials of community batteries to "smooth" the grid and we have the highest uptakes of solar and wind power in Australia. So much so that the state government has just announced the closing dates for the last two coal power stations.
Now, with the new federal government we have a commitment to reach climate change targets for real, not just by fudging the figures. They are also looking at a full renewables program, hopefully subsidising elecrtric vehicles as well.
So what's the point here? Well, it shows that sticking your head in the sand and hoping that technology won't change is a fools game.
The biggest problem with having your head in the sand is that when things come back to bite you on the bum, you don't see them coming.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. That was a quote I used when I retired last week.
I have finally turned 70 (going on 30 in my head) and decided that I was sick of what I was doing so I retired.
whether that's a good move or not I have yet to decide. I love not getting up in the cold and fighting traffic. My time is now my own... But there's so much of it!
Like everything else, there is a need to readjust and work out what I want to do, but I must admit, that's not a bad problem to have.
This is my first blog in quite a while and what a lot of history has passed in that time.
Trump gone (hopefully for ever), Covid, changing the world in so many ways. The horrific war in the Ukraine and food and fuel shortages because of it.
The winding back of globalisation. Automation due to lack of employees due to covid.
On the other hand, in Australia we now have a new government that seems to actually be in the 21st century which makes a nice change from the Morrison spin party.
They want to use technology rather than deny it exists and actually do something about climate change other than talk around it.
As with all new governments, the talk is good but the actions that come from it speak the loudest.
This could well be the catch phrase of the Australian government at the moment.
With a spin doctor as PM we get nothing but vague statements with no substance.
The whole world has seen Australia's (Morrison's) non policy that encourages coal and gas production at full speed with the hope of undeveloped "Green" hydrogen as the lynchpin for our salvation. The world has reacted accordingly with Australia rated at zero for climate policy.
Add to that the fact that instead of encouraging electric vehicles by increasing emission standards or giving incentives to buy electric vehicles, Morrison has pulled another spin. Lets give subsidies for 50,000 charging stations in homes.
This is a win win for Morrison. There are only 20,000 electric vehicles in Australia and most of those will already have worked out charging systems. With no incentive to buy electric cars , then this is a very safe policy with minimal cost.
Great spin, zero result for climate change and car buyers but terrific PR.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (before it gets sold out under us) is the fact that car manufacturers won't bring electric cars here as they can't compete on cost and don't have a large market so it's easier to dump their older, polluting models as we have minimal emission standards. Hell even our fuel is polluting because we don't have decent standards for that either.
So what can we do?
We need to create an outcry!
Australia has been a leader in technology development and uptake for generations, until now.
This clip is old, but remember it when it comes time to vote.
States are working hand over fist to get to zero emissions despite the federal government and it's showing results.
So if we do nothing then we will get nothing. Now is the time to get involved, help to get Australia back where it belongs by getting everyone from every party involved and get us moving in the right direction.
As I always say, technology, once it's out there it won't go away. If we don't adapt it to our needs and use it to our advantage then it will adapt us and that most likely will not be a good thing.
Propaganda is a latin term that means to disseminate or spread information.
In modern times this has been abused so much that it now has the meaning of pushing a specific view, these days referred to simply as fake news. However, fake news is quite often taken as fact by those that don't want to question or simply want to believe, which makes it very difficult to actually get reality as some media tend to push these stories as fact. With the mass of competing media today, may "Journalists" grab stories straight off the internet with no or minimal fact checking.
Political leaders in modern times have capitalised on that to to the extent of threatening their own countries political structure in attempts to retain power at all cost.
But lets keep it simple and call it misinformation.
These days we hear fact free announcements about 5G causing everything from birth defects to Corona Virus, wind power generators causing cancer and vaccinations causing autism or being used to implant microchips for mind control.
Even Covid is touted as a man made disease to control population growth or a fake disease no worse that a cold.
The fact that some governments have been actively supporting these stories because it works to their advantage, means that they are now between a rock and a hard place trying to overcome what has been accepted as the new normal.
Even here in Australia we have federal member of parliament, Craig Kelly, still pushing anti vax propaganda and that hydroxychloriquine is a cure for Covid despite the lack of any evidence. He has now been hit with a one week ban by Facebook for just that. As we all know, that's a very harsh punishment (sarcasm).
Hopefully, with the world starting to swing back from populism we may have a chance with the grownups back in the room.
But then again, it could be a long battle as there are still a lot of people out there that still think the US election was rigged and a pedophile ring run by the Clintons still exists in a New York Pizza shop.
Hopefully, what will come out of this is a much better understanding and control of social media.
In Australia, you have a right to say a lot of things, but if you slander or libel anyone then you have to be able to prove it. It's not a given that you can say anything just because it's your opinion. We actually don't have an enshrined right of free speech, just common law acceptance, so you can't hide behind the law.
Here's how fake news works.
Interestingly, you can create a Wiki page with fake facts, post it everywhere on the internet, hope media picks it up then use it as a citation for the wiki page!
Research and polling by Australia's ABC has shown a significant commonality in what people are most concerned with in Australia and it is probably fair to say that this would be similar in most comparable countries.
The most common concerns are:
Household debt
Cost of living
Ageing
Poverty
Wealth inequity
The economy
Unemployment
Drug and alcohol abuse and water also figure prominently
Most of the issues are related to money in one way or another and when you take into consideration the future of work from a perspective of automation and AI then at first glance the outlook appears to be much bleaker.
AI and automation will change the workforce and reduce jobs, that's a given.
But the outlook doesn't have to be negative.
If the government chooses to look at Australia from a realistic view instead of a political one, then we may have a chance of addressing our concerns and turn automation to our advantage.
But when government's main focus is to take us back to a rose coloured 1950's then we're all in strife.
If we don't have jobs and have to rely on $40 a day, be abused as not wanting to work and have to compete fiercely for those that are available, then "Houston, we have a problem".
And it won't get better.
An aging population will create labour shortages in the short term which will be filled by automation.
This will produce less jobs and those that are available will require a higher skill set which many people won't have or be able to get through a lack of education or ability. Not everyone has the potential to become highly educated, that's a fact of nature not laziness or lack of application.
We are what we are.
So if you have a go, it doesn't mean that you will get a go, the real world doesn't work that way, it just looks good on a campaign slogan.
So how do we fix this?
Not easily and not quickly but we do need to get the ball rolling by firstly getting engagement from politicians and industry and acceptance of the fact that world is changing rapidly and we need to change with it.
That is probably the biggest hurdle, dragging politicians into the 21st century.
Industry should be easier as they know the impact of technology on their business and that if they don't have customers with money then they don't have a market.
Once people are on board we need to look at the welfare systems and how to change the thinking in this area to reflect reality.
$40 a day wont cut it when we have a large percentage of the population relying on public income to live when there is little prospect of getting a job in the foreseeable future.
Universal basic income has to be an option and the best way of doing that has to be determined in a fair and equable way not by political consideration.
However to do nothing will condemn a large part of the population to a life of poverty and despair.
In a simplistic view we must use technology to produce output faster at lower cost and use the savings to fund UBI, obvious much more involved than that, but the point is we have to get the conversation started.
We can be a prosperous country in the new age and share it for all people not just a few as the time for having our collective heads buried in sand is long past.
If we don't exploit change to our advantage then we will become victims of it.
#votepirate
#BasicIncome
Australia and much of the world is at a crossroads that most people don't even realise exists.
We have an ageing population which means that as the older generations retire we have less people left in the workforce.
Combine that with the fact that most people today in Australia don't leave school until year 12 and many go on to university so we have a higher educated group entering the workforce.
Higher education and being born into an age where their parents are usually reasonably well off means that job expectations are quite high.
So, we are approaching a point where there will be less people to fill jobs and those left have high expectations and can pick and choose.
Therein lies a problem.
Who fills the low paid repetitive jobs?
A few solutions:
Bring in cheaper foreign workers
Outsource the jobs overseas
Automate the jobs and keep them in Australia
Given the current world of politics, the first two choices would not go down well, so automation and keeping it in the country would be the logical choice.
OK so now we have a solution, but it pushes even bigger problems down the track.
When the baby boomers are out of the work system, they will live longer but won't live forever. Then we get the new generations becoming the majority and looking for work, but by then we have very high levels of automation.
Now what?
This is when we get the real impact where there are more people than jobs and less and less jobs being created.
This is where social systems have to change.
Being unemployed will no longer be considered as a liability but the new normal for many people, particularly those that don't have high tech capability and don't have the ability to get there.
As a responsible society we have an obligation to ensure everyone has the right to an income and can choose how they live their lives.
So, do we wait until we reach that point and tackle it then?
NO.
The time to act is now.
Government must begin to address it now while we have the time to do it properly.
If we wait, then it will become a knee jerk reaction for short term political gain .... and we all know how well that works in the real world.
So we need to act now and plan it out so it becomes a win win situation.
Any other way and we run the very real risk of becoming victims of technology.
This is the major platform I am standing on for the Australian Senate and very much want to get involved in making this work for Australia.
Those of you who know, or know of me, know that I will be standing for the Australian Senate in 2019.
Why?
Because as I have become older my interests have changed and with it the reflection of my beliefs have changed as well.
Sounds a little pompous I know but it's true.
With age comes some security when your kids grow up, leave home and have their own lives.
What I found is that now I have more time to look around me as the day to day pressure of a younger age have gone and I am looking at the world differently.
I have always voted Liberal (right leaning in Australia) and looked on Labor (left) as something to be shunned.
In the 21st century though it's all changing.
I am a strong believer in government staying out of business as private industry can do it better and more efficiently but, and it's a big but, government has to be across what's happening and shape the society for the benefit of the people.
Confusing?
Not really.
Industry is there to make money, in most instances it's the beginning and end of the whole process. Unfortunately that's not always in the best interest of the society as a whole or for the individual.
For example, in Australia recently there has been a Banking Royal Commission into financial institutions and that has shown a blatant disregard for not only the consumer but for the law as well.
People have been systematically ripped off by companies who tell you everyday that they are there to help you.
That's just an example of how business can go wrong and most certainly does not apply to all businesses, there are ethical people in all industries.
So why is the 21st century going to change all this?
Businesses have to make money or they cease to be a business very quickly.
So the modern trend, forced by practically is to always look at ways of saving money to increase the bottom line. One way of doing this is to increase the automation of processes.
This is nothing new.
Henry ford use automation and introduced the production line early in the 20th century, and many auto factories today are nearly fully automated.
Computing in all industries have cut back staff and increased production in many areas, particularly in finance.
If your a little older you will remember queueing at the bank to take out money then driving around to various places to pay the bills.
Today we do all our banking and bill paying on the Internet and finding a bank branch (if you have a need to) is now difficult as many have closed.
Automation in industry is growing by the day, robotics and AI will increase production, reduce cost and employ less people to achieve these results than ever before and this trend is accelerating rapidly.
Not going to happen in my lifetime is something that many people believe but they are totally wrong.
I build robots at home for a hobby while working full time.
Automated cars are on the road now and will take over much quicker than you would think.
this in itself will change society further that you can image.
In my state of Western Australia , the road toll figures for last year show the lowest death toll for a year since records began. This all comes down to technology ranging from car safety, ABS, auto braking, adaptive cruise control, seat belts and not least, high tech traffic enforcement technology such as Radar and Lidar.
The point being that technology is an integral part of everyday life. If you don't believe me then try getting through a day without your mobile phone, tablet or Netflix.
So back to the political side of things.
We now have industry producing things faster, cheaper and with less wastage and better quality control, all done with less people.
See the irony here?
less people working means less disposable income and a smaller consumer base with a higher product output.
This is where it gets controversial.
In Australia we have unemployment benefits where people are paid an income while looking for work and have very strict processes in place to ensure that they do look for work to get them off benefits as soon as possible.
In the new age this all gets turned around and we need to look at things very differently.
In the not too distant future unemployment for many people will be the new normal and the stigma associated with it will have to disappear.
One answer is a form of Universal Basic Income (UBI) where everyone has a guaranteed income regardless of their ability to look for work.
So this is where the old system of politics tends to break down.
We need to encourage industry to automate but we need to provide for people who are affected by it.
To do this we need to change the way that politicians think and get people into office that understand the new world and more importantly, are not afraid of adapting to change.
After all change will be the new constant.
So, this brings me back to the beginning where I am standing for the Australian Senate in 2019 for the Pirate Party Australia and to encourage the adoption of change and adapting our society to take advantage of the new potential that change brings with it.
After all history is all about adapt or die and we need to be ahead of change not playing catch up once it happens because we didn't take the time to think about it.
Like it or not we are on the cusp of the greatest change in human history and we must be prepared to adapt.
