LABOR'S VANISHING CONTENT 

(Editor's note: In the beginning computers could only communicate in capital letters. This is one of 20 columns from Dr. Tomorrow's original series, included here to indicate change as well as describe it. Those columns also hold another story, that change is swift and offers both disaster and opportunity.)

PRUDENT INVESTORS SHOULD TAKE A STEP BACK OCCASIONALLY AND TRY TO SEE THE "PANORAMA GRANDE" -- THE BIG PICTURE. AWAY FROM THE DAILY SWINGS OF COMMERCE, WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING?

A MASSIVE CHANGE FROM A LABOR-DOMINATED INDUSTRIAL SCENE TO A CAPITAL-INTENSIVE ENVIRONMENT HAS SILENTLY ENVELOPED US ALL.

BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN 98 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION WERE FARMERS, FEW GAVE MUCH THOUGHT TO THE IDEA THAT IT MIGHT NOT ALWAYS BE THAT WAY.

TODAY THE FARMING COMMUNITY HAS SHRUNK TO JUST TWO PERCENT OF A MUCH LARGER POPULATION. WE FEED ALL THOSE EXTRA BODIES MUCH BETTER, EXPORT OVERSEAS AND STILL HAVE HUGE SURPLUSES. WE ACCOMPLISHED THIS AS THE DAYS OF THE STRONG BACK AND LOW-COST SCYTHE CAME TO AN END. BACK THEN YOU WERE RICH IF YOU HAD LAND.

ONCE UPON A TIME MANUFACTURING WAS THE ALL-CONSUMING WORKPLACE. IN 1843, BRITAIN LED THE WORLD, PRODUCING 73 PERCENT OF ALL MACHINEMANUFACTURED GOODS. TODAY BRITAIN PRODUCES BUT ONE PERCENT. MANUFACTURING TODAY IS ONLY ABOUT 20 PERCENT OF THE BUSINESS WORLD. THE DAY OF THE STRONG ARM AND HEAVY MACHINE TOOL IS OVER. THAT WAS THE PERIOD WHEN YOU WERE RICH IF YOU OWNED MACHINES.

WITH THE TYPEWRITER CAME THE MODERN FORM OF OFFICE WORK. IT GREW TO ABOUT 30 PERCENT OF ALL WORK PERFORMED. THIS ENVIRONMENT ALLOWED WOMEN, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LARGE NUMBERS, TO MOVE INTO THE BUSINESS WORLD. BOTH FOR FINANCIAL ADVANCEMENT AND MARRIAGE. IT WAS THE TIME OF AGILE FINGERS. NOW THAT ERA IS COMING TO AN END.

TODAY WE LIVE IN THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AGE. IT IS ALL AROUND US. COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS NOW ACCOUNT, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FIGURES, FOR UP TO 58 PERCENT OF THE WORKFORCE, DEPENDING ON THE CRITERIA USED TO MEASURE IT, WHICH ITSELF IS CHANGING DAILY. NOW, IF YOU HAVE "INFORMATION" YOU ARE RICH.

TWO CENTURIES AGO ALMOST EVERYONE WAS A FARMER, AS HAD BEEN THE CASE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. A HUNDRED YEARS AGO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS IN FULL FLOWER. ONLY 40 YEARS AGO SUCH VISIONARIES AS ARTHUR C. CLARKE SAW THE DAWN OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AGE. AS THIS AGE CURRENTLY BURSTS INTO FULL FLOWER, INDICATIONS SUGGEST THAT YET ANOTHER AGE IS WAITING IN THE WINGS. WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES, GOVERNMENTS, COUNTRIES, "AGES" DO NOT LAST LONG ANYMORE. HAIL THE FORTHCOMING KING: MINDLINK.

A FEW YEARS AGO EXPERIMENTATION IN THE 'HUMAN POTENTIAL' MOVEMENT FOUND THAT WE CAN CONTROL OUR MENTAL ALPHA AND BETA WAVES BY THINKING. THIS CONTROL WAS USED MAINLY FOR MEDITATION AND RELAXATION. WE HAVE SINCE LEARNED TO USE SUCH "THOUGHT WAVES" IN CONJUNCTION WITH CERTAIN SWITCHING DEVICES TO CONTROL AND COMMAND SWITCHES ON COMPUTERS. IT'S NOT MUCH AT THE MOMENT, BUT NEITHER IS A CHILD AT CONCEPTION.

FOR YEARS MANY PEOPLE HAVE CLAIMED THEY CAN SEE AURAS. RUSSIAN KERILIAN PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWED THAT EVERY PERSON EMITS AN ENERGY FORCE. THESE UNKNOWNS ARE TO THE MINDLINK AGE WHAT RADIO AND TELEVISION WAVES WERE TO THE EARLY CITIZENS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE. INTERESTING... BUT WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM? MORE THAN JUST A FEW ARE TRYING TO FIND OUT.

TODAY MORE ADVANCED DEVELOPMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AGE ARE MAKING FURTHER "MINDLINK" ADVANCES SEEM NOT SO FAR AWAY. WHAT WAS "BUCK ROGERISH" LAST YEAR, DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE THAT FAR OUT TODAY.

KURZWEIL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF MASSACHUSETTS IS NOW MARKETING "VOICEWRITER". WITH IT YOU DICTATE TO A SCREEN, GIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS AND YOUR CORRESPONDENCE IS DESPATCHED ELECTRONICALLY TO THE ADDRESSEE. IMMEDIATELY. YET NO HUMAN HAND HAS TOUCHED A THING!

FUJITSU, JAPAN'S LARGEST COMPUTER COMPANY, NOW HAS A "UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR", WHICH TRANSLATES JAPANESE INTO ENGLISH AND VICE VERSA AT 1,000 WORDS A MINUTE. A VIDEO I PLAY AT MANY SEMINARS SHOWS A BLACK AFRICAN SPEAKING SWAHILI, FROM JAPAN VIA SATELLITE, TO A CANADIAN INUIT IN IQALUIT, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES WHO REPLIES IN INUKTITUT.

THEY BOTH, VIA THE COMPUTER, UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER. SINCE THE DIALOG HAS BEEN DIGITALIZED IT CAN ALSO BE VOICE SYNTHESIZED. ONE COULD HAVE BEEN BLIND AND THE OTHER DEAF. IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED. WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT THE BLIND CAN SEE AND THE DEAF CAN HEAR.

THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS. WHAT WILL IT DO TO TRANSLATORS ON PARLIAMENT HILL OR AT THE UNITED NATIONS? WHAT WILL IT DO TO SCHOOL BOARDS, PROVINCES AND COUNTRIES THAT HAVE SCHEDULED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR LANGUAGE TRAINING. WILL ANYONE WANT TO LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE WHEN THERE IS NO LONGER ANY FINANCIAL INCENTIVE TO DO SO?

SOME WILL STILL WANT TO LEARN LANGUAGES, LIKE TODAY SOME WANT TO KNOW LATIN. BUT IT REALLY ISN'T A BIG SELLER IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS AND KNOWING LATIN FLUENTLY WILL NOT MAKE MANY A PROFITABLE INCOME.

ALL THIS IS REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF WHAT WE USED TO CALL "LABOR" IN THE "OLD WORLD". NOT ONLY IS THE WORKPLACE CHANGING, BUT EVEN OUR DEFINITION OF WORK IS UNDERGOING RAPID TRANSFORMATION. ARE YOU PREPARED TO HANDLE THIS?

(PLEASE SEE ILLUSTRATION NUMBER 2)

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