The Automated Society
Encyclopedia
In a diagram from the book "The Automated Society", Bloomfield defines the history of man beginning over two million years ago and ending over a hundred thousand years in the future. The diagram is base on biological punctuated equilibrium
and a parallel cultural evolution. The predictions of the future
follow what has happened in the past.
The diagram of history
shows mankind having long periods of stability interrupted with short periods of transition. Mankind is currently experiencing one of those short periods of transition, from a stable agricultural period going through a transitional industrial society
leading to a stable automated period. Productivity
is the key to the transition; when it is impossible to increase productivity, mankind will have arrived at the automated society.
Before mankind enters the automated society, we will suffer from two near term trends. One trend is the relentlessly increasing number of human beings. The second is the relentlessly decreasing number of jobs. Jobs will be eliminated by substituting men with machines. An example of this is agriculture where once in the peasant society there were ninety percent of the people working as farmers. With the introduction of tractors, only three percent of Americans work on the farm.
Once the problems of the lack of jobs, increased pollution
and fewer natural resources are solved and the food factory put in operation, there should be a reconciliation of man to automation
. In the automated society, men will live in affluence along with a total control of population
. The one place where man will have an unlimited future will be in space. Space
can provide for an unlimited increase in population and potentially the introduction of new human biological species.
Productivity
Punctuated Equilibrium
Sociocultural Evolution
Punctuated equilibrium
Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology which proposes that most species will exhibit little net evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in an extended state called stasis...
and a parallel cultural evolution. The predictions of the future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
follow what has happened in the past.
The diagram of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
shows mankind having long periods of stability interrupted with short periods of transition. Mankind is currently experiencing one of those short periods of transition, from a stable agricultural period going through a transitional industrial society
Industrial society
In sociology, industrial society refers to a society driven by the use of technology to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the west in the period of time following the Industrial Revolution, and replaced...
leading to a stable automated period. Productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
is the key to the transition; when it is impossible to increase productivity, mankind will have arrived at the automated society.
Before mankind enters the automated society, we will suffer from two near term trends. One trend is the relentlessly increasing number of human beings. The second is the relentlessly decreasing number of jobs. Jobs will be eliminated by substituting men with machines. An example of this is agriculture where once in the peasant society there were ninety percent of the people working as farmers. With the introduction of tractors, only three percent of Americans work on the farm.
Once the problems of the lack of jobs, increased pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and fewer natural resources are solved and the food factory put in operation, there should be a reconciliation of man to automation
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
. In the automated society, men will live in affluence along with a total control of population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
. The one place where man will have an unlimited future will be in space. Space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
can provide for an unlimited increase in population and potentially the introduction of new human biological species.
See also
AutomationAutomation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
Productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
Punctuated Equilibrium
Punctuated equilibrium
Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology which proposes that most species will exhibit little net evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in an extended state called stasis...
Sociocultural Evolution
Sociocultural evolution
Sociocultural evolution is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how cultures and societies have changed over time...