Stakeholder Capitalism

6Technology

A Changing Labor Market

The press release touted a most remarkable headline: “Denmark in the world's top 10 for robots.”¹

The organization behind the release was not a Danish tech firm, media outlet, or politician. It was Dansk Metal, the union representing blue-collar workers in the Danish metal manufacturing and processing industry. It was clear that the union was proud of this achievement: “An increasing number of employees in the industry work side by side with robots,” the press release read. “Dansk Metal has a target of rounding 10,000 industrial robots in Denmark by 2020.”

I was intrigued by this stance. From visiting other parts of the world, and reading about other times in history, I knew of many more instances where workers opposed new technologies, especially when they threatened to replace their jobs. The most famous case may have been that of the Luddites in England, a group of textile workers in 19th century England who destroyed the new machinery that was disrupting their industry. But throughout the world, including in our time, many others also protested new technologies and the new ways of working they promoted, whether through street protests against ride-hailing firms such as Uber or intellectual protests by politicians² or academics³ in media.

I too share the concern over the future of work in this era of automation. Back in 2015, I realized we were at the dawn of a new era—one of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and integrated cyber-physical ...