We’re at a pivotal point in how we think about work. The conversation about the future of work has gained steam over the past few years, though the signs of an emerging problem have been apparent for a few decades. When we introduced computers into the workplace, we started an unprecedented upheaval in employment. At first it looked like computers would usher in another industrial revolution, where computers helped us automate processes, expand production, and increase productivity. The reality, as we’re seeing, is much more profound and the risk is that we end up pushing capitalism to the brink of collapse.
In a winner take all game, when the winner has taken all, the game ends.
I started my career at the turn of the century, building tools to create a data driven economy. Instead of relying on instinct and charisma, we believed that measuring and analyzing the real world would lead to better decisions. It turns out this thesis was overwhelmingly true. The business intelligence tools of the 90s and early 00s turned into automated decision making systems, first in advertising and then in manufacturing and supply chain. Applying efficiencies of scale with large moats that require collecting increasing amounts of data is a capitalist dream come true. Unfortunately capitalism is a winner take all game. In a winner take all game, when the winner has taken all, the game ends.
