K S S Pillai
There was a time in the not too distant past when violent protests erupted as the banks tried to induct calculators to make calculations quick and error-free. That was also the case when farmers brought tractors to their farms to do the work done by labourers and animals.
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The general opinion was that mechanisation would result in unemployment. There were no gadgets to help womenfolk in kitchens either. My mother and sisters drew water from the well near the kitchen, the only mechanical help being pulleys. The water was safe to drink directly, without any purification.
As the hearths were fuelled mainly by split wood, stalked in a platform above the hearth, there was always smoke in the kitchen and the rooms nearby.
Electricity was a new entrant, and there were no electric fans in rural homes. There was a grinding stone to wet-grind spices for different dishes, a heavy stone grinder with a large pestle to make batter for idlis and dosas, a coconut scraper, and a mortar and pestles to de-husk paddy or to pound rice. They also washed the entire family’s clothes manually. As they were doing everything physically, from morning to evening, they didn’t need any extra exercises to keep fit.
The situation has changed today, with every kitchen having piped water, electric mixer-grinders, and oven with timers, gas stoves, and many such devices. Now the women’s role has been reduced to one of turning knobs of machines.
Different types of farm machinery have come to our farms without anybody objecting. Machines prune plants and hedges, keep gardens beautiful, remove weeds and do similar work. They also handle work from sowing to harvesting. Sugarcane farmers transport sugarcanes to factories in motor vehicles, where everything from extracting juice to the final packaging of sugar in bags is done by machines.
Our banks are now fully automated. There is no need to visit their branches as customers can do almost every kind of transaction from home. Cash is rarely used, even fishmongers accepting payment through modern devices. In the rare occasions of making payments in cash, the customer goes to the ATMs to withdraw money. Frauds at the ATM kiosk are minimised with a CCTV camera recording every transaction.
With devices like the internet, computers, and smartphones with numerous social media platforms, youngsters’ lives have become easier than those of the earlier generations.
Artificial Intelligence replacing human beings in most fields has appeared in advanced countries. Driverless-cars that drive through roads more efficiently have become common there. Houses are closed and locked by machines when one goes out, and they keep them open when you enter. One dreads to violate traffic rules with a number of machines keeping vigil over you.
Similarly, criminals are caught quickly and brought to justice with several devices at the service of law enforcement agencies.
Cities now have multi-storied buildings with lifts and elevators to transport people and goods. Every condominium has generators that ensure the continued working of such devices even when the supply of electricity is disrupted.
Life without machines has become unimaginable. Artificial Intelligence and similar devices have replaced human beings, whose role is now limited to controlling machines that work more efficiently and cheaply.
