More: The Problem with Productivity

UK national productivity has consistently lagged behind both the Eurozone and the OECD average.9 When the Office of National Statistics (ONS) first compiled comparative international data in the 11 More: The Problem with Productivity early 1990s, the national productivity of the UK was 9% lower than the average of the rest of the G7. [...] It is no coincidence that the word “productivity” first appeared in English in 1809, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, taking over from the word “productiveness”, which itself was coined in 1727, in the midst of the Agricultural Revolution.2 Up until the late 18th century, any improvements in agricultural productivity had proved temporary. [...] However, as we noted in the opening section of this chapter when looking at the industrial revolution, there Being more can also be tension between the specific good that is being productive does produced and the overall good of the production process, not necessarily especially when that overall good incorporates the good of mean being the human who is producing the stuff in question. [...] Labour productivity growth in services averaged 1.3% per year over the past three decades, compared with 3% in manufacturing.3 Moreover, the tertiary sector is a broad one and the report found that the majority of productivity growth in the service sector was concentrated in finance, retail and technology industries as opposed to the most ‘personal’ segments of the sector which are less amenable t. [...] It is too soon to tell, however, whether AI will indeed be a levelling and democratising force or only deepen existing disparities.14 Whether AI will lead to greater empowerment or higher concentration of power and disparity between the skilled and the less skilled depends, of course, less on the intrinsic features and capabilities of the technology and more on the dynamics of the political econom.