November 6, 2008

I.B.M.’s Chief Sees Technology Leading a Recovery - NYTimes.com

The notion of leveraging technology to improve efficiencies on a massive systems scale is a wonderful idea and should be pursued. Obviously, the notion serves IBM's interests, but in the grand scheme of things can we afford not to do this to remain competitive with our economy?

Such a massive undertaking may not have access to the numbers of skilled people required to pull it off. An additional factor that will weigh against it is the dislocation of jobs. Efficiency improvements inevitably result in reducing and/or changing the type of jobs required.

On the one hand we need the momentum that technological innovation can provide, but it will be tempered with the inertia of its initial negative effect on people's livelihoods.

His speech is here.

I.B.M.’s Chief Sees Technology Leading a Recovery - NYTimes.com

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