The impact of technological change on productivity, growth and employment were addressed by Guillermo Varela, president of the Chamber of the Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU), during a breakfast meeting organised by the Association of Marketing Managers of Uruguay (ADM).
In a panel discussion he shared with engineer Leonardo Loureiro, president of the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (Cuti), and economist Fernando Isabella, director of Planning at the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), Varela warned that "technology is coming to radically transform our businesses and industry".
In reference to the development of the digital economy, he highlighted changes such as the trend towards the disappearance of cash, a phenomenon driven by the Financial Inclusion Law, which led to 64% of Uruguayan adults being banked in 2017, almost triple the 24% recorded in 2011. Along the same lines, while in 2014 only 33% of transactions were made by digital payment, in 2017 they were 53%.
"The illiterates of the future are those who lack digital education today," he said, analysing employment projections and the relevance of digital training supported by a cultural change. "We have to learn how to learn and do it all the time, otherwise we will not have enough time to train young people for all the technological changes that are coming," he said.
The executive pointed out that "rarely has an undeveloped country had as many opportunities as now and we must work on that". Continuing with the analysis, Fernando Isabella explained that routine and manual tasks will eventually have a higher degree of automation than non-routine and cognitive tasks. At the same time, he introduced the OPP's projections for Uruguay towards 2050, when the population is expected to be close to four million inhabitants, in which between 20% and 26% will be over 65 years of age.
"Technological change is the main force for development and not only makes it possible to improve living conditions, but also to make the entire social protection system sustainable in the context of an ageing society", he said. In this sense, he believes that the state must be involved, as only regulation and public intervention can guarantee the deployment of the potential of technology and the distribution of its fruits in society.
"The skills that we require today for new jobs are not available to those who are looking for work," said Loureiro, who analysed the technological revolution as a phenomenon that is having a rapid impact on all sectors of industry and employment. The expert warned about the role of education, which he believes should provide training with the future in mind and taking into account the advances in the environment.
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