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“Compensational technologies, interdisciplinary and ethical vision”. Dipak Pant’s view of sustainable development.
Dino Collazzo
According to Dipak Raj Pant, an experienced field anthropologist, economist, founder and current head of the Interdisciplinary Unit for Sustainable Economy, at the Carlo Cattaneo University, where he teaches 'Sustainable Economic Policy and Management', the technological developments currently taking place, such as connected cars and autonomous driving, must be carefully analyzed before they can be fully absorbed in order to reduce the risk of negative repercussions on the entire socio-economic system.
Hi-Tech innovations, vehicles able to carry out several tasks, besides moving people and goods, and the need to satisfy the basic requirements connected to mobility. These are the guidelines on which the automotive industry is called upon to build its own future. According to Dipak Raj Pant, an experienced field anthropologist, economist, founder and current head of the Interdisciplinary Unit for Sustainable Economy at the Carlo Cattaneo University, all this will be possible only with the aid of compensational technologies. “The triumphalism that normally follows any new discovery, often neglects taking into account two important aspects: strategy and ethics. Hence, results that appeared extraordinary at first, become unsustainable for the entire socio-economic system in the long run”.
Professor Dipak Pant, according to your statements, innovations are not always positive?
“Depends on the kind of innovation. Robotics and automation can certainly have positive a positive influence if designed and used to perform potentially dangerous tasks for man. For example, reclaiming contaminated or radioactive land, or think of those who work in mines or have to diffuse and neutralize bombs. The same technological development, though, can likewise have negative repercussions if used indiscriminately on non-specialized work where large chunks of the work force could be made redundant increasing unemployment and downplaying the value of human resources. What is needed is to provide innovation with adequate guidelines that take into consideration two aspects: strategy and ethics. “The triumphalism that normally follows any new discovery, often neglects these two important aspects. Hence, the results that appeared extraordinary at first, become unsustainable for the entire socio-economic system in the long run”.
So, we need people-oriented innovations?
“I’d say compensational, able to make up for ones deficiency. Think, for example, of people’s psycho-physical abilities which are limited by nature and tend to diminish with time. For some time now we have noticed how the rate of aging is constantly increasing and so has the age of maturity been pushed forward. In addition, we will always have vulnerable categories: children, pregnant women, people with an illness or convalescent, people with disabilities or declining abilities due to age. Therefore, technology, design and even lengthy bureaucratic procedures, must be compensational”.
Can this “compensational technology” concept be applied also to the automotive world?
“The automotive world is a rather interesting one because it occupies a central role in the modern industrial framework, and one which deals directly with human mobility. I can see new horizons connected to human mobility with its growing needs, and this will have to be followed by a general adaptation of the whole automotive sector”.
In 10 years time, cars will be zero-emission, autonomous and connected. How is this going to affect the automotive sector?
“It’s a bit too early to say how exactly will the car of the future be like, how versatile it will be and how profitable it will be. Instead we should reason on some of the aspects that have been proclaimed to the four winds, such as connectivity, zero emissions and autonomous driving. All of these have a dark side and economic disadvantages that have not been sufficiently examined. Furthermore we should ask ourselves what kind of future are we talking about and what is the timeframe. Let us go back to when the fax was invented and what a great invention we all thought it was. Words, numbers and pictures could be sent anywhere. But then we all saw how quickly the fax machine became obsolete. Its birth, development and demise took place within two, three decades, an extremely short timeframe. “Conventional” cars, instead, have lasted a lot longer”.
Should we consider cars to be irreplaceable assets?
“What I mean is that we need a 360° interdisciplinary vision that considers all the different aspects, whether technical, economical or anthropological. In other words, we need a strict rational approach in analyzing the facts and figures we gather along with a little intuition, or should we say premonition, in order to develop a long term vision and foresee the future”.
Talking about cars we cannot neglect mentioning that shared mobility is often preferred to ownership. How will this affect the automotive sector?
“Car sharing or car pooling schemes are effective yet limited to a context, such as location, time, category of people and age groups: youth hostels for example but not only, think of army barracks or a university campus. At other times, or in different physical and cultural contexts, ownership and/or customization of vehicles and spaces become paramount both morally and strategically”.
Another factor linked to mobility is its environmental sustainability. How will this affect choices in the coming years?
“It will probably be more across the board. But we need to point out that in the future things might be perceived differently. For example: over twenty years ago it was common knowledge that recycled paper was eco-friendly. It was later discovered that, during the washing stage, the chemicals used in obtaining the pulp needed to produce recycled paper, were more harmful than the one used in making new paper. Sustainability is a serious matter and must be examined and evaluated through an in-depth analysis between input-output and cost-benefits ratio, for natural resources, economic and financial feasibility as well as human factors and ergonomics”.
Professor Dipak Pant, according to your statements, innovations are not always positive?
“Depends on the kind of innovation. Robotics and automation can certainly have positive a positive influence if designed and used to perform potentially dangerous tasks for man. For example, reclaiming contaminated or radioactive land, or think of those who work in mines or have to diffuse and neutralize bombs. The same technological development, though, can likewise have negative repercussions if used indiscriminately on non-specialized work where large chunks of the work force could be made redundant increasing unemployment and downplaying the value of human resources. What is needed is to provide innovation with adequate guidelines that take into consideration two aspects: strategy and ethics. “The triumphalism that normally follows any new discovery, often neglects these two important aspects. Hence, the results that appeared extraordinary at first, become unsustainable for the entire socio-economic system in the long run”.
So, we need people-oriented innovations?
“I’d say compensational, able to make up for ones deficiency. Think, for example, of people’s psycho-physical abilities which are limited by nature and tend to diminish with time. For some time now we have noticed how the rate of aging is constantly increasing and so has the age of maturity been pushed forward. In addition, we will always have vulnerable categories: children, pregnant women, people with an illness or convalescent, people with disabilities or declining abilities due to age. Therefore, technology, design and even lengthy bureaucratic procedures, must be compensational”.
Can this “compensational technology” concept be applied also to the automotive world?
“The automotive world is a rather interesting one because it occupies a central role in the modern industrial framework, and one which deals directly with human mobility. I can see new horizons connected to human mobility with its growing needs, and this will have to be followed by a general adaptation of the whole automotive sector”.
In 10 years time, cars will be zero-emission, autonomous and connected. How is this going to affect the automotive sector?
“It’s a bit too early to say how exactly will the car of the future be like, how versatile it will be and how profitable it will be. Instead we should reason on some of the aspects that have been proclaimed to the four winds, such as connectivity, zero emissions and autonomous driving. All of these have a dark side and economic disadvantages that have not been sufficiently examined. Furthermore we should ask ourselves what kind of future are we talking about and what is the timeframe. Let us go back to when the fax was invented and what a great invention we all thought it was. Words, numbers and pictures could be sent anywhere. But then we all saw how quickly the fax machine became obsolete. Its birth, development and demise took place within two, three decades, an extremely short timeframe. “Conventional” cars, instead, have lasted a lot longer”.
Should we consider cars to be irreplaceable assets?
“What I mean is that we need a 360° interdisciplinary vision that considers all the different aspects, whether technical, economical or anthropological. In other words, we need a strict rational approach in analyzing the facts and figures we gather along with a little intuition, or should we say premonition, in order to develop a long term vision and foresee the future”.
Talking about cars we cannot neglect mentioning that shared mobility is often preferred to ownership. How will this affect the automotive sector?
“Car sharing or car pooling schemes are effective yet limited to a context, such as location, time, category of people and age groups: youth hostels for example but not only, think of army barracks or a university campus. At other times, or in different physical and cultural contexts, ownership and/or customization of vehicles and spaces become paramount both morally and strategically”.
Another factor linked to mobility is its environmental sustainability. How will this affect choices in the coming years?
“It will probably be more across the board. But we need to point out that in the future things might be perceived differently. For example: over twenty years ago it was common knowledge that recycled paper was eco-friendly. It was later discovered that, during the washing stage, the chemicals used in obtaining the pulp needed to produce recycled paper, were more harmful than the one used in making new paper. Sustainability is a serious matter and must be examined and evaluated through an in-depth analysis between input-output and cost-benefits ratio, for natural resources, economic and financial feasibility as well as human factors and ergonomics”.
