| [What Role Does Technology Play in Record Levels of Income Inequality? | MIT Technology Review](http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/531726/technology-and-inequality/) |
“Any decent person should find … extreme poverty coexisting in the same society with extreme wealth immoral.”
Living in the Silicon Valley definitely opens my eyes to the rising income inequality. I often think about the service industries, friends in education, caretakers, etc. and how they deal with such a high costs of living. If I didn’t work in the technology space, what are my options?
“Robots and automation, for example, are eliminating some routine jobs while requiring new skills in others … but the biggest factor, he says, is that the technology-driven economy greatly favors a small group of successful individuals by amplifying their talent and luck, and dramatically increasing their rewards.”
I wonder then, how can we create change? How can I, as an individual, neither rich or poor, working in the technology space help to close that gap? I am disappointed that I do not have a meaningful answer other than what the author states to continue to mentor and encourage kids to stay in school, stay determined and motivated… with us knowing that despite their efforts, many of them may not reap income benefits, while some will be blinded of the societal inequality by their bling.
I worry about the future and future generations where we will live in a “world of Jane Austen, in which people’s lives and fates are determined by their inheritance and not their talents or professional achievements.”
How can we make technology work FOR society instead of AGAINST it? How may we leverage technology so that it helps close the gap in income dichotomy?