World Unyielding

On the fringes of academic research is floating an idea of full unemployment. It may seem absurd, but deep thinkers are pining for a situation where labour becomes economically redundant, and people are freed to pursue leisure. An enjoyable life is pitched to us as a life ‘freed from the drudgery of having to work,’ and now economic scholarship is tipping its hat to the same idea. This recaptures the hopeful vision of Arthur C. Clarke proclaimed before television cameras back in 1969, stating, “the goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play.”

Consider the idea of human labour becoming economically redundant. In such a situation, a workforce would no longer be needed, and the suggestion of forcing people to remain in menial jobs would seem uneconomical. Low-productivity jobs would be the first to go in the event of autonomous machines replacing the workforce and bringing higher productivity. Besides the economic gain, is it not altogether more compassionate to relieve people of the toil of work?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is causing a stir at the moment. It is forecasted by many experts that advancements in AI will lead to machines that match both human intelligence and function. Unlike any before, the present fourth industrial revolution is set to develop at an unprecedented pace and bring about widespread displacement of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs due to advanced AI functioning with robotics resulting in an extraordinary level of automation. If these predictions prove true, then we will all be confronted with the perfect substitute for human labour, thus outsourcing the weight of responsibility tied to employment. All this is expected before the close of this century.

This all begs the question: how does a society allocate income if human labour becomes redundant? Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an option quickly gaining traction in recent years. It is the regular and unconditional payment of a minimum income to all citizens. UBI is proposed as a gateway to the exploration and development of new ways of providing the benefits that work now brings. Recipients may still engage in work for its benefits such as structure, purpose, and meaning. Nevertheless, nobody would be forced into employment.

Consider again a situation where the income generated by autonomous machines using AI increases and the value of human labour decreases. Imagine the cost of those machines falling below the cost of workers. There lies the optimal conditions for phasing out work, or so we’re told. Why not begin with those who are least productive and least satisfied with their jobs? Why not begin with the unskilled labourer who loathes the thought of another day on the job? And in steps UBI, releasing a person from the shackles of endless toil to explore boundless possibilities without concerning themselves with earning a living.

Are you drawn to a society where wealth generated apart from human labour can free masses from the need to work? Would this be a milestone for humanity? Work is part of life by divine design. God has placed the responsibility on humanity to work. There is dignity in working since it is bestowed upon us by our Creator.

Touted as the end of the Age of Labour, would the eradication of the need to work be something for us to embrace? Is a society’s escape from the shackles of employment something to be celebrated? Dear reader, it is my God-given duty to answer no to both those questions. Since the very beginning, our Creator has intended work for us. Adam was placed in the garden of Eden by God for the purpose of tending and keeping it. He was also tasked with naming the animals. All this happened prior to the fall of man and sin entering the world, revealing that work constitutes part of what it means to be made in the image of God and to fulfill the purpose He has set.

Today, we still see a shift from this ideal, and rightly so. Man rebelled in the garden, and a curse was pronounced on our labours, starting with the first rebels, Adam and Eve. Rebellion against God’s law brought about difficulty in work. The ground yields fruit at the expense of our toil, and only then may we enjoy labour’s reward at God’s discretion. Work now requires strenuous effort, and the results are not guaranteed. We face hindrances and frustrations that impede our efforts to make a living. The industrial revolutions may have softened these effects for many, yet the curse remains. There is an uncertain reward that comes at the expense of real toil. God is a righteous judge. The toil He has decreed for humanity is a measure of His ongoing judgment for sin. It is for Him to grant any gain from a person’s labour.

Regardless of a person’s willingness to acknowledge God, each one of us is aware of the dignity of employment. Suppression of the knowledge of God, unwillingness to acknowledge God for who He truly is, inevitably leads to a rejection of His will. It is God’s will for us to work. It is the Creator himself who can dignify what may be considered the most menial job to the most highly esteemed job. The value of the work is determined by who it is done for. Who would work their job for the glory of God who is above all? Unbelief rejects the lasting value of work, which God plainly communicates through His word. Academia seems eager to sustain people in their rejection of God’s purpose for humanity, lending credibility to the dream of a work-free life enabled by emerging technologies.

It is a warped sense of freedom that woos people into desiring a work-free life. As a means of achieving this, hopes are now gravitating to AI-driven automation reaching new heights of human-like sophistication and capabilities. Then, human labour will considered obsolete, not of any worth to the economic experts. But before God, honest work will still hold worth. Better yet, honest work done by faith in the Son of God holds value into all eternity, despite what the experts say. Objectors who hold to optimistic expectations for work-free living may use economics to bolster their case, but they are stepping beyond their area of expertise. God, who is perfect in wisdom and foreknowledge, has said to man, ‘In toil, you shall eat of the ground all the days of your life.’ Any plan to escape the toil and reap the rewards is bound to fail; God will see to it.

We are best advised to abandon such resolute rejection of God’s purpose of work. Instead of fleeing from God to fanciful speculations circulating in global conversations, find refuge in Him. God who made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh, upholds all things by the word of His power. Besides His creative and sustaining work, God came in the person of Jesus Christ to labour in redemptive work. The sinless Christ bore the curse of sin in the place of sinners, entering this world in the likeness of our first forefather.

As His courageous work neared completion, Jesus, in turmoil of soul and anticipation of the toil before Him, sweated great drops of blood. He was wholly surrendered to the will of God, freely offering up His life upon the cross in the place of rebellious sinners. As He died undeservedly, receiving the just judgment of God that is due to sinners, paying the penalty for them, He declared, ‘It is finished.’ The work was done. Even now, the resurrected Christ calls sinners to a life of self-denial and faith-driven work, showing no partiality to a person’s natural affinity to work, for Jesus Christ worked the greatest work humanity ever partook in to reconcile souls to God. The work-addicted person and the work-shunning person alike need Him.

I expect these ideas of an increasingly work-free society will gain traction over the coming years. It appeals to a person’s innate aversion to the will of God and falsely promises rest. And what is falsely promised is a pitiable imitation of the rest and satisfaction God freely gives to those trusting in Christ today.

Source

• Korinek, Anton, and Megan Juelfs, ‘Preparing for the (Non-Existent?) Future of Work’, in Justin B. Bullock, and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance (online edn, Oxford Academic, 14 Feb. 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197579329.013.44, accessed 1 Feb. 2024.