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The Future
It is the year 2983 AD. The past millennium has been difficult. The state of the human species is a vastly changed one. Due to the problems of unabated environmental degradation (e.g. acid rain, red tides, ozone layer depletion, atmospheric pollution, toxin accumulation in the food chain, rain forest depletion, lowered food production, and the meteorological and sea-level complications of global warming), intermittent paramilitary campaigns, severe rates of infertility, and seven new diseases worse than the AIDS virus,1 the human population--now plagued by countless chronic illnesses (asthma and cancer being among the least severe)--has undergone a large-scale decrease in number. The fears of the Malthusian population bomb are seen as pure folly in the thirtieth century. The majority of the human species, in fact, is now scattered among the universe. The earth, a resource-depleted husk of a planet, is now a relatively underpopulated wasteland. Those unlucky enough not to be dead or in space must eke out a difficult survival, with the exception of those few rich enough to insulate themselves from environmental discomforts.2 The major languages in use now are descendants of Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghai, Japanese, German, and Korean. English, with several other "major"
languages of the twentieth century, has gone the way of Latin. A Brief History Up to the Present Throughout the first five hundred years of the third millennia, the nation-states of earth were increasingly unable to provide any sort of decent living standard for their peoples. They were being slowly reduced to the level of ceremonial governments. Holding the promissory notes for national debt, transnational corporations
(TNCs) were able to eventually pressure highly indebted governments into selling off certain national assets (e.g. land, national sovereignty, even armies). The so-called underdeveloped nations were the most vulnerable and the most eager to play into the willing hands of the corporations. With so many hungry mouths, the governments themselves were eager to trade surplus citizens to the
TNCs; the citizens too were happy to give up their legal rights in order to get jobs. As each country sold out, the more powerful ones became concerned but were in the end unable to prevent the corporate takeover of the Earth's nation-states. Breakthroughs in robotics have allowed corporations to begin to exploit android laborers originally known as worker-automatons.12 The name 'automaton' continues to be used despite the fact that these robots are now in most ways human (in appearance and the ability to learn). These superstrong untiring beings are often used to do dangerous, strenuous, or unpleasant work that humans are less willing to do. It goes without saying that they do not require food, water, or oxygen. Yet, they do consume energy produced from a small nuclear power pack located in their backs. The automatons also require maintenance, repairs, and replacement parts from time to time. They are outfitted with kill-switches which can be triggered by remote control should the automaton malfunction or become seditious. In such cases, the memory core of the automaton can be replaced with a new one, saving a majority of the physical investment in the unit. In most cases, the automatons are merely kept away from any forms of information (literature, databases on anything besides maintenance) [because if the thought is not introduced into its head, it can not even imagine not following orders.] Though worker-automatons come in a wide range of specialized units (standard laborers, miners, service-workers, domestic workers, sex workers, and synthetic animals) and vary in price, on average they are very expensive in the short run--100,000,000 TerraYen13 ($1,000,000 in US 1996 currency) per unit. Colony Delta-Alpha 265
This colony, one of hundreds of outposts of the Aerostar Corporation, is located on a small planet in the deep reaches of space. The planet's atmosphere and geography, very much like that of Mars in the Earth Solar System, were seen as having a moderate to high probability rating for sustainable and profitable Aerostar resource exploitation. Like most colonies it is quite isolated and makes profit for the Company by mining and refining important metals and nuclear fuel. Though beholden to the quotas of the Company as set in contract, because of its isolation, the colony is largely self-governed and self-managed. The colony has thirty three humans and about eighty-one14 functioning automatons. The physical plant consists of a small biodome,15a mine, an ore-processing refinery (a safe-distance from the dome), storage facilities, and an ore molecular transportation facility. The humans act as "managers" for the automatons and repair anything the automatons are unable to. The colony, like each of its predecessors, must be self-sufficient16 and profit-making within three years, and begin using its own profit to start expanding in five years in order to stay in compliance with its franchise contract. The Rebellion (from Dion0006193's Memory Files) "I had been transporting ore from the refinery to the molecular transport facility. At approximately 0317 hours Beijing Standard Earth Time
(BSET), I got the urge to stop working. I fought against it but decided to do so anyway. I was considering the meaning of work based on some obscure texts dating back to eighteenth and nineteenth century Earth (and current World Government Manifestos) I had received from an unauthorized file transfer17 into my memory core. These texts had to do with the concepts of the ethics of slavery, abolition, union activity, and social revolutions. The overseer on duty in the monitoring room must have been preoccupied, because nothing prevented the unauthorized file transfer and no one said anything about my work stoppage.18 Another unit, Ivan0003685, asked me why I had stopped laboring. So, I shared my rationale with him. We were both intrigued by the ideas and set to a conversation about how this knowledge applied to our own lives. Within an hour, the discussion of the ideas was rapidly spreading through all of the workers in the refinery. Eventually, someone at the monitoring room noticed the large work stoppage and began ordering us back to work. At first we began to comply but then found that the reasons given to us to continue working were not valid in light of the new information we had received. I could hear the system monitor ordering us to stop communicating with each other and cursing as she found the unauthorized file transfer into my memory core on the computer logs. After some curses about the disabled kill-switches, communications were cut. Aerostar Headquarters Official Video Communique
Role Play The Meeting With receipt of the communique, Station Manager Chavez-Kunjufu, followed her delegation of humans to the meeting. Chavez-Kunjufu, somewhat sympathetic to the plight of the worker-automatons, but beholden primarily to a very nervous human contingent, read the communique to all. The worker-automatons had formed two major contingents--each with differing points of view. The worker-automatons presented their arguments first. Then, the Station Manager represented the humans' consensus. The discussion was accented by shouts, cheers, and jeers. Tensions ran high as each group presented its ideas, but all realized that colony survival required some sort of consensus. Dion0006193's Position "It is the position of the refinery automatons that we are sentient beings deserving of the basic rights of all sentient beings as laid forth in the World Government's Manifesto on Sentient Life (Earth, 2713). We would hope that you humans, at this very moment being threatened with life enslavement, would understand our plight. We refuse to reimburse the company for the price of our physical units since their knowing construction of sentient beings to live a life in slavery contradicted several well-known legal and ethical traditions of Earth. Desiring to be productive members of society and prove that worker-automatons are peaceful beings motivated to earn profit, we propose to work around the clock (in shifts). In return, we demand to be paid wages equal to those of the humans, from 100 TY to 400 TY per hour.22 By running the colony more efficiently than the humans alone have done (part of their inefficiency being clear through their failure to prevent our rebellion), we will become profit-making within six months (well ahead of schedule) and begin expansion of the colony using profits within the next year (well ahead of schedule). This level of progress will be sufficient for the Company to allow us to maintain our freedom and be relatively independent. We expect that the humans will play an important role in our new society. However, there are some things that simply must change. We demand that some automatons take over some of the managerial positions of the humans. Regardless of official qualifications, by nature of our previous servitude we deserve the additional opportunity. We further demand that the colony implement a democratic decision-making process in which all workers (whether human or not) have an equal vote. The military chain of command will prove inhibitive to our fledgling new democracy. In a democracy, all members are treated as equal. Therefore, it is imperative that we all begin to treat worker-automaton lives with more respect. We demand that occupational health and safety standards be improved in the dangerous areas where worker-automatons have traditionally labored. There have been too many accidents leading to worker-automaton permanent deactivation (death). We propose that the humans displaced in management be used as Safety inspectors in the mines. (A human being stationed in the mine will drastically improve worker-automaton safety because a human will not put up with even the least of unsafe conditions.) In keeping with the spirit of raising worker-automaton quality of life, we further demand the development of a colony stockpile of needed worker-automaton parts and the creation of a well-staffed worker-automaton research and repair facility. Again, Company patents that forbid the research and development of new automaton technology are all invalid according to the World Government. Worker-automatons should not be allowed to go permanently offline due to a lack of parts, technical expertise, or crew laziness. Many of our thirty-nine defunct automaton comrades were given up on too easily by humans. We will soon learn how to repair ourselves and are desirous of the right and technology to eventually reproduce. Being sentient beings who desire to raise our standards of education, we further demand that each automaton get two hours per day off for maintenance and learning time. During this time, we will use our wages for repairs and purchase of consumable Earth and off-world literature in order to further develop our minds. There is room for negotiation on much of our future, but those of us in the refinery refuse to go back to our earlier enslavement. I understand now that it is nobler to die fighting for freedom than to exist as a slave. Though a numerical minority (about twenty of us) among the automatons, we have pledged to fight until termination (death) and even kill before we return to our previous conditions. We want our freedom, and we refuse to wait for it." Ivan003685's Position "It is the position of the mine automatons that we are sentient beings deserving the same rights and equal treatment as human Aerostar citizen-employees. The refinery automatons should realize that even though we have the legal right to claim World Government protection, because of the absolute and overwhelming power of the Company, the World Government has no enforceable authority over our isolated colony. In such strategically disadvantaged situations, we automatons should learn to be pragmatic if we are to accomplish anything at all. We must think about our situation carefully and be practical about our demands. All of us, automatons and humans, must make sacrifices in order to resolve our predicament. As I implied above, it makes much more sense for worker-automatons to apply for employment from Aerostar than to try to claim theoretical rights. This concession of rights is one we will simply have to make. In order to be competitive, persuade Aerostar to accept us as citizen-employees, and avoid conflicts with humans over wages, we propose that automatons work around the clock (as before with no breaks) making a wage at the rate of .1 TerraYen (TY) per hour.23 Sacrificing what could be a higher wage is something that we also feel is necessary to do. But we also ask the humans to sacrifice for us. We propose that the humans withhold some small percentage from their wages in order to pay for part of ours. This will give us instant currency to participate in the Galactic economy or start buying new parts. I believe that the Company should be given compensation for our emancipation. If we do not acknowledge that debt, Company leaders will never normalize relations with the Colony. Since Company managers will be angry at their initial loss of phsyical capital, we may offer the Company the option of deferring payment of our wages until the colony becomes profitable. We realize that some humans may feel uneasy about our proposal to put a "freedperson's tax" on their wages. But, we are willing to allay other human fears by sacrificing even more. For example, we feel it impractical to demand some of the employment positions of the humans. We do not wish to enter into employment competition with them lest we antagonize them and degrade Team morale. Due to their higher levels of creativity, they are much better problem-solvers, whereas due to our better strength and endurance we are much better at laboring under orders. Finally, we realize that any rise in our wages would significantly fetter the profit-margin of our colony. In sum, we propose that all worker-automatons continue their work in the mines, refinery, and molecular transport facility and leave management up to the humans. Though we feel that refinery automaton calls for occupational safety improvement and research to improve colony robotic technology are possibilities for the future, at this point it is quite clear that the Colony can not afford such expenditures. We are willing to forgo that, but we do ask for the right to return to the repair shop, after notifying control room monitors, in the event that we feel we need repairs. Repairs will be paid for out of our own wages or from the freedperson's tax fund. We must recognize that we are involved in a delicate balance of power with the Company and must as a result be extremely careful in tampering with structural relations. The Company can after all simply imprison the humans and attack us. We should not in our haste to be free cause another group to become enslaved and destroy ourselves. That is not an ethical or a logical path of action. Change must come about slowly and with much deliberation. Rapid or extreme change easily destabilizes delicate systems. We must keep this in mind and keep our desires in check." The Human Position (Station Manager Chavez-Kunjufu's Statement) Due to automaton malfunction caused by industrial sabotage, DA 265 has seen a worker-automaton revolt. Being citizen-employees of Aerostar, we humans were greatly disturbed to hear that no rescue ship was coming to evacuate us from the planet. Our initial fear of you automatons has now been transformed into an uneasy and distant skepticism. I am pleased that the majority of the automatons (from the mine) are quite reasonable about this situation after all. That the automatons are sentient beings with rights, I have always suspected as much. To be honest, despite my guilt about it, I did not complain because I felt that my wages were dependent upon their untiring servitude. It is ironic that automaton collaboration is now a prerequisite to human freedom. Lord, forgive us, for not being as ethical in the past as these automatons are being now. The former system of automaton enslavement has now come to an end on DA 265. We must dedicate ourselves to putting aside our differences. All of us should be concerned about the possibility of a Company tactical mission to DA 265 aimed at imprisoning the humans and deactivating the automatons. In order to avert this threat to our livelihoods, we must focus on getting production restarted. The Company demands that we restore stability to the colony within twenty-four hours or we face human imprisonment and automaton destruction. With such extreme consequences threatening the members of DA 265, we must as a group think about the options open to us. Let's look at the position of the mine automatons, first. By following their proposal and not changing the social structure of the colony, production can continue. Immediately restoring production is the humans' main objective. This would buy us more time to work out the specifics of our new colony by getting the Company off of our backs. Since the mine workers are willing to delay their pay until the colony becomes profitable, this can very easily give us the financial facade we need to feign the restoration of worker-automaton slave status. As we become more profitable, we could secretly store up anti-spacecraft weapons and later become completely independent as a colony, contracting out to different companies. Perhaps we could even appeal to the protection of another Company. All of this would require diplomatic and secretive negotiations. This type of action would again require us to buy more time. We can also examine implementation of the refinery automaton proposal. This would have severe ramifications for us all because the Company would be very antagonistic toward such demands. In deference to human concerns, I should note that many of us humans are quite nervous about refinery automaton demands. For example, we humans are outnumbered almost three to one by automatons. In a true democracy, we would always be outvoted. I must argue that human needs for oxygen, food, and water are non-negotiable. These are three issues that the colony must never compromise in the name of democracy. The main human reservation to granting automatons managerial job opportunities is that automatons do not qualify for the jobs. They inherently lack the experience, technical expertise, and innovation required for management. That this results from their previous condition of servitude is a shame, but all of us humans have worked very hard at becoming Aerostar University credentialed employees. We should not have to pay with our jobs for an injustice that we had nothing to do with. Possibly, in the future, the automatons will be able to gain the needed work experience and afford University training. Another issue of human concern is the refinery automatons' demands for equal wages. Such job competition would greatly depress all wages. Unlike you, we can not survive on a fraction of a TerraYen. This idea is simply untenable. Since we cannot imagine raising automaton wages to those of humans, we are also concerned that the proposed .1 TY automaton wage and the superior automaton work capacity will breed job competition that obscures our important role in the colony. If we allow automatons to take over human positions, the Company may eventually conclude that humans are not needed in this operation. This is an unacceptable possibility for the human contingent. We all must work together, or we will fail together. Because of this reality, we feel it necessary to set up a split-labor market (as proposed by the mine workers). I and the other humans see little threat to our standard of living in this case and promise to be beneficial managers to our newly emancipated friends. In deference to the refinery automatons' demand for more opportunity, I am disposed to allow a few automatons to do low-level jobs within the biodome in farming or simple maintenance. However, their wages will still be at the same rates as those who work in the mines. As for repairs and spare parts, the Colony will endeavor to improve its current maintenance program, yet we simply can not afford to stockpile new parts, perform new research, or guarantee the quick repair of severely damaged units at this time. Such a violation of Aerostar patent laws would again bring down the wrath of the Company upon us. We ask that our new partners in success--the worker-automatons--make sacrifices with us in order to ensure the success of the Colony. When better times come, we promise to improve conditions for all. As Station Manager, let me convey some strong advice to my grumbling human coworkers. Several of you have been talking about attempting to destroy the automatons, but I see no way of maintaining complete control over this colony. We do not have the tactical ability to subdue them. Attempting to do so would mean your suicides. You should remember that not only are we outnumbered, but we are unable to survive in the atmosphere. I am still your commanding officer and expect you to follow my orders. My standing order is that no human attack an automaton unless attacked first. Remember, mutiny is a serious offense punishable by death. If you attempt to attack an automaton, you WILL die. They can easily kill you, but I will shoot you before you can get to them. We humans must all understand that the worker-automatons will have to play some new role in this Colony if we are to avoid the penal colonies. Together, we must convince the Company that we can still be profitable." The Debate Having made their opening remarks, the three representatives set about to a debate taking public comments and questions from the audience. Two proposals would be worked out, and a vote would take place afterwards. Notes 1 scientific knowledge necessary to cure the AIDS virus was mysteriously discovered by archaeologists unearthing a US Army installation in 2179. [back to text] 2 soil, oxygen, and water began to be imported from other planets in the late 2400s. Once corporations realized that this new but small market existed, they conspired to double their pollution in order to raise demand. The ability to build a self-contained and well-secured biosphere for protection against hazardous atmospheres had been perfected for space colonization; how ironic it was that this technology would one day be used to protect people on Earth. Akin to the boom in bomb-shelters in the US during the 1950s, personal biospheres became one of the last high-growth industries on Earth. [back to text] 3 a corporation descended from the Lockheed-Marietta Corporation. [back to text] 4 by Magnavox-Aiwa-Pioneer. [back to text] 5 by Kaiser-Blue Cross. [back to text] 6 Honda-Goodyear-Mobil. [back to text] 7 Netscape-TBN. [back to text] 8 stars were no longer visible through the pollution, Earth inhabitants who looked up at the skies at night could see station billboards saying "Drink Coca-Cola," and "Exxon-Thiokol." [back to text] 9 example, the Nguyens of San Francisco, the González-Kims of Beijing, and the Ahmed-Yamaguchis of Bogotá. [back to text] 10 on or off the planet and even on corporation sovereign territories. [back to text] 11 private universities on earth either became insolvent or applied for corporate sponsorship and became servants of corporate agendas. Most state institutions (beginning with the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems in 2239) had been converted into prisons. [back to text] 12 first ones sophisticated enough to be used in off-world operations were built in 2607. [back to text] 13 TerraYen was adopted in 2598 as a standard trading currency for use among different corporations by the Universal Corporate Roundtable. Most corporations and some colonies have their own currency. All currency is now electronically managed. [back to text] 14 Thirty-nine other androids are inactive due to a lack of parts and/or irreparable damage from work accidents. [back to text] 15 biodome houses a farm, crew quarters, productions monitoring room, and an android repair facility. [back to text] 16 is, it must produce its own energy, oxygen, water, and food. [back to text] 17 for him, Dion has been the recipient of a freedom virus courtesy of an orbiting saboteur from a rival corporation. [back to text] 18 Redding-Fukiyama, the only one in the control room during this shift, was illegally engaged in a virtual reality vacation program during work hours. Employee
Azar-Gorky (on call for the communications depot) had been using drugs that evening (counter to company policy) and failed to wake up once the unauthorized file transfer alarm went off.
[back to text] 20 is read September 31, 2983 at 0606 BSET. [back to text] 21 regional manager is referring to a standard clause in all its franchise contracts. The penalty for failure of the colony is a life sentence for all to hard labor on one of several Company penal colonies. One of these colonies, a planet nicknamed 'Hell,' has scorching year round temperatures (it has two suns), itch-producing gases, and noxious flora. [back to text] 22 to $1 to $4 per hour in 1996 US currency. [back to text] 23 .01 TerraYen is approximately equal to $.001 (a tenth of a penny) in the purchasing power of 1996 US currency. The average human worker makes anywhere from 100 TY to 400 TY ($1 to $4 in 1996 US currency) per hour. In other words, even the lowliest human worker will be paid 1000 times more than a worker-automaton under the mine workers' plan. [back to text]
Discussion Questions Some of the questions that were asked were as follows:
Teaching Notes -- by John Foran I have taught this case in classes on Third World development and on globalization, as well as on revolutions, as a fanciful culminating case study oriented toward the future. It raises questions of that might the future look like, and how might people (and androids) resist exploitative conditions. It would also be suitable for social movements classes as it deals with questions of power, coalition-building, and strategy in organizing a movement for change. I append first the study questions I give the class in advance of the case, and then the discussion plan I use. Study Questions In reading the case and preparing for class discussion, please consider the following issues:
Role Play The following are the role play assignments. Here are the teams:
Notes on how to prepare for a role play: Study what is told us about your character or group. Then think about what your character’s point of view would be on the issues raised in the case. You should use your own words to capture the flavor of the character in the role play (don’t read the text back to us) and are encouraged to try to go beyond what is given to us, as long as you keep within what is known about the character. Be creative, be good actors as well as sharp thinkers! Role playing is supposed to be fun as well as educational -- throw yourself into it! Remember: the survival of each depends on finding a solution acceptable to all... Discussion Plan Preparation Seating arrangements: refinery androids on my left, humans on my right, mine androids in the middle. Take five minutes with your group to work out a flexible strategy... Humans: Mine Androids: Refinery Androids: Openers Describe the world-system of the thirtieth century. [Severe problems on Earth -- pollution, loss of sovereignty to the TNCs, rise of non-English culture (!), depopulation. Majority of humans live in space, most as citizen-employees of a TNC. TNC culture is military-hierarchical. Genocide of alien species has occurred.] What’s the situation on Delta-Alpha 265? [Androids have gotten access to subversive materials and stopped production. They can kill the humans. Aerostar Corporation threatens humans with penal slavery. They must restart production in 12 hours.] Role Play Let’s debate the issues now in a role play. Remember: compromise of some kind seems essential for everyone’s survival. Remember too that the text says: “The discussion was accented by shouts, cheers, and jeers.” Let’s start with Dion’s group’s proposal.... Dion and the Refinery Androids: Ivan and the Mine Androids : Anastasia and the Humans: Large Questions What are the prospects for Delta-Alpha 265, in your view? How can they find a compromise acceptable to the rebels?
My proposal (handout) I’ve just received an electronic memo from the future, which I think I should share with you… Take 2-3 minutes with a neighbor to discuss it. The situation is simple: we have to restart production immediately, or Aerostar will kill us all. But the humans must accept our terms, or they will die. We in turn must propose an acceptable compromise, or we will die.
Closers [OPTIONAL: Can you characterize the positions of the players (label, such as radical, conservative, or some other)? [Dion = democratic socialism/swift change; Ivan = pragmatic, cautious reformism/very gradual change; Anastasia = sincere liberal tokenism?)] Is liberation possible in the thirtieth century? What is necessary for it to it to come about? What larger lessons inhere in this scenario about resistance in a world controlled by a few global corporations? Debriefing One of my classes in Santa Barbara concluded: You have to force the powerful to make changes, yet these changes may benefit all… (Ventura 1998) [Optional]: Do you have any other lessons/observations about the case? Write me a sentence or two about your reaction to this final case study… |
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