The Efficiency Society Consumes People - The Price of Cheapness and "Convenience"

This note is the second installment of the 4-part series “Dignity Destroyed - In the Age of Technology and Economy”. It is perfectly fine to start reading from this piece.

Vol.1 We Dreamed of Doraemon - The Light and Shadow of AI Evolution
Vol.2 The Efficiency Society Consumes People - The Price of Cheapness and "Convenience"
Vol.3 AI Has Become a Tool of Control, Not Salvation - The Freedom Technology Steals
Vol.4 Is Originality Dead? - The Future of Being a Creator

Introduction: What Lies Behind Convenience?

"Convenient, cheap, and easy." We live our daily lives captivated by such words. We can shop with a single smartphone, and deliveries arrive the next day, sometimes even the same day. We can enjoy videos and music with just a few clicks. I do not deny the comfort brought by technological progress.

However, I sometimes wonder. What is happening behind this convenience? Who is sacrificing what to support this?

Behind "cheap," "fast," and "convenient" lies a shadow where our own lives and values are quietly being eroded. When I feel this, I cannot help but stop and think.

Chapter 1: Convenience Exploits Someone's Time

We have come to demand "cheap" and "fast" far too easily. How many people realize that, as a result,
the value of labor is being belittled?

The "convenience" we receive is built upon someone else's time and effort. Packages delivered with short lead times, 24-hour stores, food delivery that arrives in minutes. These certainly save us time and make our lives more comfortable.

However, the people working behind the scenes are forced into harsh labor for low wages, working late-night or early-morning shifts. To the extent that we enjoy
"convenience," someone else is forced to bear the "inconvenience."

And this situation is often overlooked as "It's convenient, so it can't be helped" or "It's natural because there is demand." But we should realize that it is our own desires that create this "demand," and that this is a factor exhausting society as a whole.

Chapter 2: What Remains After Seeking Cheapness?

In pursuit of efficiency and to lower costs, many companies have continued the fire sale of labor. Temporary employees, part-timers, contractors, gig workers. The trend of relying on cheap, easily procured labor rather than full-time employees shows no signs of stopping.

As a result, companies have come to view "people" only as "costs". The lives and happiness of employees are pushed to the background, and only numbers are prioritized.

And we, the consumers, have also rejoiced in "cheapness," ignoring the structure of exploitation behind the products and services we obtain at low prices. Or, we have justified it while being aware of it.

In exchange for obtaining the fruits of cheapness, have we not lost long-term prosperity and peace of mind?

Disposable workers, exhausted workplaces, and widening inequality. If that is the end result of pursuing "cheapness," at what point should we have stopped?

Chapter 3: In the Age of AI and Automation, Why Use Humans?

"It is more efficient to introduce robots than to use humans" is what we are told in this era. But what is the reality?

Surprisingly, there are still many situations where "it is cheaper to use humans". The reason is simple: to keep labor costs to a minimum, non-regular, part-time, and short-term contract workers are being exploited.

Introducing AI and robots requires an initial investment, but humans can be used at "low wages" and "only when convenient". As a result, non-regular workers are used up in the name of efficiency, and the focus remains on short-term cost-cutting rather than long-term productivity improvement through robot adoption.

While intoxicated by the word "efficiency," we may actually be offering ourselves up as the ones to be "made efficient." Has our society become one that cannot even notice such a contradiction?

Chapter 4: Consumer Responsibility and Hope

I believe we must not end up as beings who merely consume "convenience". When we obtain cheap goods or enjoy efficient services, we need to take the time to stop and think about who is behind them and what they are feeling. This is necessary for the era to come.

We are not powerless. When we choose products or services, we have the power to choose.

I want to believe that choosing not just "cheapness," but things where "you can see the face of the maker," "sincere things," and "sustainable things" will have the power to change the flow of society, even if only slightly.

While we praise the term "fair trade" for things like overseas coffee, we discard people living in our own country with the word "self-responsibility." There is no way Japan will improve like this.

Furthermore, rather than just pursuing convenience and efficiency, I want to reclaim the values that cherish the time for humans to live humanely. Wasn't that the original purpose of AI and DX—to create time for that very reason?

I believe that what supports those values is the choices and small actions of each individual.

Conclusion: To Us Living in an Age of Efficiency

Efficiency was supposed to have been born to enrich our lives.
However, in that light, what have we lost and what have we overlooked? Could the pursuit of convenience and low prices be an act of eroding our own value?

Every time we think, "As long as it's cheap" or "As long as it's easy," we might be letting go of our own future little by little. That is precisely why I want to keep asking.

In this efficiency-driven society, how far will I be swept away?
What do I cherish, and what do I want to protect?
And what kind of future do I want to choose?
How do I want to live?

While looking squarely at the price of convenience, I want to live with hope.

Thank you for reading until the end.
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