Tech Has A Place In Achieving The Sustainable Development Goals

If we are to achieve significant headway towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) brought forward by the UN General Assembly in 2015, we’ll need not only the support of governments, but support and innovation from private citizens and business both large and small. A significant portion of value towards achieving the STGs will be from the science and technology sector. Improvements to AI, deep learning, robotics & automation will present us with a number of opportunities never seen before. This will include reducing prices for products and services and increases to productivity possible across all industries. If we want to capitalize on these trends in order to eliminate poverty we’ll need to change how our welfare systems work.

While new jobs will be created due to automation and AI, it is likely that there will be a reduction in the hours worked overall. Productivity trends over the last 50 years have shown significant improvements, though the additional wealth created has been going to smaller percentages of the population. There has been a push by some in recent times towards Marxism/Communism as a fairer way to distribute this extra wealth. If the government controls all economic activity, those who can best serve value in their chosen industries don’t develop the skills needed organically as there is much less incentive and competition to meet consumer needs.

While Capitalism isn’t perfect, it is the best system we have created so far. Essentially we get to exchange what has value to us via a go between – money. Businesses that provide better value will usually do better than businesses that don’t. The problem is that though automation increases productivity and wealth, those increases don't necessarily go towards enriching the average individual. To that end we need government policies that simplify and radically change our welfare systems.

A universal basic income that covers basic food and accommodation that doesn’t change with personal income is a better option. Those seeking employment have a stronger bargaining position as their basic needs are already met. Government administrative overheads are reduced, and those wishing to start businesses or pursue further study can do so more freely.

A UBI Working in tandem with well operating universal health care programs to support the sick, disabled and injured need to be a part of the overall picture in order to best serve the SDG goals by 2030. These are big challenges for governments. How do we best serve the common good through taxation policy and maintain strong industries in the process? One thing is for sure, AI, deep learning, robotics & automation will transform our social and economic landscapes whether we are ready or not.