Cognitive capitalism is an emerging phenomenon that emphasized the importance of cognitive skills to advance in the world. Neoliberalism has widened the gap between privileged and underprivileged populations across the globe. Not accommodating those who are lacking in the cognitive abilities to advance in the contemporary model of economy which favour meritocracy over community-driven progress can create a major shift in the politics, equality index, and future cause of humanity. Cognitive capitalism has created a new form of inequality, eroded social and political trust, and compromised democracy in the 21st century.
With the rise of cognitive skills, those workers who lack the cognitive abilities, high intellectual capacities, and demanding skills to recognize themselves in ever-changing economies are shifted to the margins. Economist Guy Standing argues that there is a threat of a rising Precariat class which is characterized by instability and insecurity. Those workers who have no cognitive abilities to accommodate themselves to a changing skills economy can be characterized as Cognitive Precariat.
Cognitive capitalism which values cognitive skills and high-skilled labour, puts low-skilled labour on the verge of instability and insecurity. They are always vulnerable to losing their jobs or their economic sources. For example, the gig economy can be highlighted and recognized as this phenomenon. The workers in the gig economy have no security and stability in their jobs.
The emergence of AI tools like Chatgpt has removed the jobs of freelance writers which is a potential shift in the employment system. Due to a lack of cognitive skills to cope with the changing environment of automation and artificial intelligence, workers are becoming more insecure and unstable in their performance and identities. As Standing notes, the cognitive precariat is “the new global underclass, lacking not just labour rights but social and economic rights as well”. Capitalism must introduce the ethical commitment to adjust the cognitive Precariat in the 21st century.
The other pitfall of cognitive capitalism is the blurring of the line between work and life. Technology has consumed workers to such an extent that they are always connected to technology for some kind of work. As sociologist David Frayne argues, the pressure to be constantly connected to work through technology can lead to burnout and mental health issues.
It is time to consider the pitfalls of cognitive capitalism which has pushed the world towards the decline of democracies, erosion of trust, and widened the gap between cognitive skilled workers and low-skilled workers to make more inclusive and participatory governance in the contemporary context.
Moving forward, cognitive capitalism has emerged with new forms of imperialism and hegemony. As world data and knowledge are concentrated in a few hands, the owners of these sources of knowledge can exploit them disproportionately. It has also created a disproportional disparity between those who can own data and who can’t own the data.
As scholar Yochai Benkler argues, the concentration of knowledge and information in the hands of a few “has the potential to make the structure of global governance more like a feudal system “.The subordinated class or super-humans are few in terms of data, knowledge, and production of cognitive abilities. It can hurt the democratic cause which is dedicated to inclusive and participatory dimensions.
Finally, algorithms, data manipulation, and infodics are also conceived by those who are efficient in cognitive skills. For example, the social trends to manipulate the masses before the elections are established through vigorous manipulation of data to cause echo chambers and confirmation biases for many. It is important to deceive people which is too demanding in terms of cognitive skills. The cognitive manipulation by such people can cause distrust in society. Distrust can lead to a fading of the trust of the public in institutions and democracy. It needs to consider who is owning the data and there must be a check on the unfettered cognitive skills of people in a free society.
The rise of populism can be characterized as due to the rise of the cognitive Precariat class in the Post-Truth era. As the people are becoming more insecure and unstable about their jobs and employment they are convinced of the radical solutions of the populist leaders which offer lucrative slogans to end all their problems in one stroke.
It is time to consider the pitfalls of cognitive capitalism which has pushed the world towards the decline of democracies, erosion of trust, and widened the gap between cognitive skills workers and low-skilled workers to make more inclusive and participatory governance in the contemporary context.
