In the piece, Philosophy of Manufacturers, by Andrew Ure, Ure discusses the impact of factories on the working class, arguing that “The constant aim and effect of scientific improvement in manufactures are philanthropic” (Ure). During this time period, there was a large debate regarding the ethics of using factories and modern technology to create products instead of manual labor. The impoverished population –the working class– felt as though these scientific advancements are “the certain origin of innumerable evils to the people” because the rich would no longer need as many employees since machines were cheaper and more effective. In addition, the families that are now working for the factory felt like they are getting mistreated, since now children and mothers could work and operate the machines. The factory owners, however, felt as though this technological revolution did nothing but help everyone, since it both makes it cheaper and faster for the owner to make products but also assists low skill workers complete tasks safely, letting the high skill workers do other things and allowing children and women to essentially take over. Ure sums this up in the excerpt, “It is, in fact, the constant aim and tendency of every improvement in machinery to supersede human labour altogether, or to diminish its cost, by substituting the industry of women and children for that of men; or that of ordinary labourers for trained artisans” (Ure). The factory owners also felt that although some jobs may be lost to machines, many more would open up, as said machines require fuel and materials that can only be gathered through the employment of people.

Another issue that came up during this time was from the workers and families that didn’t own factories but still made and sold products through manual labor. These families originally were competitive in the market, but the recent advancements would raise the barriers to entry so high in the market that they would not be able to compete and would fold to the wealthier retailers who had access to new technology. These families/communities were livid because they felt what was happening was quite unfair as it heavily favored those who could afford the new machines/tech.

Although this revolution was controversial at the time, it was unavoidable and unstoppable. The impact of this on today’s society is quite apparent. Today, many factories exist and although the tech has been updated quite heavily since then, the concept is still the same. Technology, which is better and cheaper, does the tedious tasks and just requires a technician to monitor and check on its functionality to make sure it is working optimally.

These disputes regarding the industrial revolution still apply to our society today. In modern times, there is a growing fear of AI and the applications of AI and advanced machinery in the work force. In most factories as of late, most operations are autonomously completed through the use of machines, not people. This caused many of the workers in the low skilled work pool to be out of a job, which caused some outrage amongst said community.