Is technology the ally or enemy of man ?

Replacing man by machinery in production should signify an enrichment for man. Man would be freed from purely material worries. This would give man more time to perform other human functions beyond the mere economic function. If, on the contrary, such a substitution leads to privation, it is simply because we refuse to adapt the financial system to progress, and we tie any income only to those who have a paid job.

Is technology an evil? Should we rise up and destroy machinery because it takes our jobs? No, if work can be done by machines, so be it. This will allow man to invest his leisure time in other activities, free activities, activities of his own choosing, provided he is given an income to replace the salary he lost when the machine was installed. Otherwise, the machine, instead of being an ally, will become man's enemy since it deprives him of his income and prevents him from earning a living. 

In 1850, when manufacturing, as we know it today, was barely beginning, man did 20% of the work, animals 50%, and machines accounted for only 30% of the work. By 1900, man was doing only 15%, animals 30%, and machines 55% of the work. By 1950, man was doing only 6% of the work while machines did the remaining 94%. The animals had been freed!

And there was more to come since we entered into the computer age. A third industrial revolution began with the introduction of transistors, and later that of the silicon chip. Microprocessors can now accomplish more than a million operations per second. How many workers can thus be replaced in factories equipped with this technology?

Such factories already do exist. Places like the Nissan Zama plant in Japan that produces 1,300 cars a day with the help of only 67 workers — that is more than 13 cars a day per man. Some factories are entirely automated, such as the Fiat motor factory in Italy which is under the control of some twenty robots that do all the work.

And now we have entered the era of artificial intelligence, which many call the "fourth industrial revolution," that is going to bring even greater changes.

In his book The End of Work (1995), U.S. author Jeremy Rifkin quotes a recent Swiss study which said that "in thirty years from now, less than 2% of the present workforce will be enough to produce the totality of the goods that people need." Three out of every four workers — from retail clerks to surgeons — will eventually be replaced by computer-guided machines.

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, held on June 27, 2025, Ford Motor President Jim Farley said: "Artificial intelligence is going to replace half – literally half – of all white collar workers in the U.S."

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia (a manufacturer of graphics cards for computers, but above all of chips for the most powerful AI models), said at the Milken Institute's Global Conference, on May 6, 2025: "Every job will be affected, and immediately. It is unquestionable." 

If the rule that limits the distribution of income to those who are employed is not changed, society is heading for chaos. It would be plain ludicrous to tax 2% of workers to support 98% of unemployed people. We most definitely need a source of income that is not tied to employment. The case is clearly made for a Social Credit dividend. 

Free activities

But, then, if man is not employed in a paid job, what will he do with his spare time? He will spend it on free activities, activities of his own choosing. It is precisely in his leisure time that man can really develop his personality, develop the talents that God gave him, and use them wisely. 

Moreover, it is during their leisure time that a man and a woman can take care of their religious, social, and family duties: raising their family, practising their Faith (to know, love, and serve God), and helping their neighbor. 

To be freed from the necessity to work at providing the necessities of life does not mean becoming lazy. It simply means that the individual could choose to participate in the type of activity that appeals to him most. Under a Social Credit system, there would be an outburst of creative activity. The greatest inventions and the greatest works of art were created during leisure time. As C. H. Douglas remarked: 

"Most people prefer to be employed, but on things they like rather than on the things they don't like to be employed upon. The proposals of Social Credit are in no sense intended to produce a nation of idlers... Social Credit would allow people to allocate themselves to those jobs to which they are suited. A job you do well is a job you like, and a job you like is a job you do well."