Sweden invents new ways for unemployment Posted by Katja on Mar 11, 2010 in Culture, Swedish Language, Vocabulary
Swedes usually like to pride themselves in being creative and their ability to invent new things. Since we were starving and had a really poor quality of life during the 1800’s and before that when things started turning we were all too happy to embrace (omfamna) change. Therefore change has been a good thing for us. One theory is that since we haven’t actively taken part in a war for over 200 years that gave us the luxury of liking change without it being forced upon us. Though some might ask themselves if we are going in the direction we want to be going in i.e. making everything hyper-efficient (hypereffektiv). Our inventions centre around making everything as easy as possible.
I’m going to name some of the inventions (uppfinningar) that have taken people’s jobs away, made things easier for the customer (kunden) and for the people who got to keep their jobs.
Almost all big supermarkets in Sweden now have a system where you as the customer scan all the products you want to buy and take them to an automatic cash register (kassa) (unmanned by a person). You pay with your credit card (kreditkort) and walk out. This new system allows you to scan and bag all your items as you walk round the shop. To prevent stealing you get randomly checked, which means you have to unpack all your shopping and go to a “normal” cash register. These new shopping systems haven’t taken over completely – the traditional way of shopping still exists. But shops do everything within their power to steer people to this new and modern way.
In the city where I live, our biggest central library (bibliotek) has gone over to a new system in which you don’t need to talk to the librarians unless you have a problem. There are machines at the front of the library were you leave the books you want to return, the books get scanned, then taken away on a conveyor belt and behind glass windows they get reshelved. If you have reserved a book you now just have to go and collect it from a book shelf, and there is of course a machine you use to scan books you want to borrow.
Banking is yet another business that has moved their services onto the internet, away from traditional face-to-face communication and consulting.
Paying for things online has made room for a new market to establish itself, the most famous trading, buying and selling site: blocket.se has become a big hobby for a lot of people, for some even an addiction. People can sit in front of the computer just leafing (virtually) through pages and pages of snow mobiles (snöskotrar), cars, stereos and many more products.
You can buy train tickets, plane tickets, book trips months in advance and then just hours before you leave you can go up to yet another machine and have it print out all your travel information. Once through the check point you can even go onboard without speaking to a single soul.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure all of these inventions and new systems are making our lives better in a lot of ways, I just think it is a bit sad that nowadays you don’t need to small talk to people you don’t know. How can I ask the machine at the cash register how its children are doing? Or just chat about the weather with my local ATM (bankomat)? I’m expected to have checked the weather forecast (väderprognos) for my final destination on my mobile phone before I get on the plane instead of asking the flight stewardess.
Not only are we creating a situation where we no longer need to talk to each other, but we are also substituting modern technology for human labour. Is this only occurring in Sweden?
And more importantly is this the direction we want to be going in?
Cash register – Kassa
Credit card – Kreditkort
ATM – Bankomat
Inventions – Uppfinningar
Weather forcast – Väderprognos
Snow mobiles – Snöskotrar
Embrace – Omfamna
Hyper-efficient – Hypereffektiv
Customer – Kund
Library – Bibliotek
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Comments:
BM:
Not only are we creating a situation where we no longer need to talk to each other, but we are also substituting modern technology for human labour.
—
But we’re also creating new, skilled jobs in manufacturing/programming all these new toys.
Greg:
@BM.
But I think the amount of jobs gained by the production of these machines compared to the jobs that these machines and new systems are replacing are alot smaller.
Katja:
Sure, but at what cost? Is it something we are willing to pay for? I’m still waiting to be fully convinced…
Kimi the Qtswede:
The same thing is happening here in the states as well. 🙁 What a sad world this is turning into.
Carol Goller:
Yes, I agree that we see these same things in the U.S. too. However, in most cases, you have a choice of a person or a machine. I use the machine to save time in the supermarket, for instance, but if I see a cashier who is not busy or has just one person, I go there instead.
BM:
“Sure, but at what cost? Is it something we are willing to pay for?”
The cost is the number of low-skill jobs. A modern, western nation, offering free universal education up to the highest level needs skilled jobs, not unskilled.
People made the same sorts of complaints when the industrial revolution happened (see: Luddites, clogging), but we ended up gaining a lot more than we lost.
Katja:
Oh ok, if I look at it that way it might make more sense.
Luke (Sydney):
To me, this is all about cost cutting and it’s driven by the company that puts those ACR (auto cash regiter ;)). It’s not about improving services, otherwise I wouldn’t have to empty the trolley myself.
It’s not about creating more high skilled jobs as the company didn’t develop the machine and there is a good chance that it’s made in other countries, so those new jobs may not be even in the country.
Will we be isolated by machines? Probably not. I can’t see it will happen that I go to a cinema to find a robot next to me. Unless you argue that companies are putting cinemas in our living room…damn, this is already happening! Oh well, better go ice skating instead.
BM:
“It’s not about creating more high skilled jobs as the company didn’t develop the machine and there is a good chance that it’s made in other countries, so those new jobs may not be even in the country.”
But the machines also need to be maintained and serviced on-site, and they need to be localised for language, cash, and the local banking system.
They need also to be marketed, sold, supported, programmed, and installed. All of these jobs will happen locally (i.e., in country).
The company that organises this will need staff, and not just technicians, but accountants, and paper-pushers too.