Every era builds its own kind of worker.
Once it was the factory hand. Then it was the clerk. Today, it’s the coder, the creator, the courier — people whose work exists as much in the cloud as it does in the real world.
We are told that the future of work is flexible, borderless, and digital. That algorithms will make decisions faster, and artificial intelligence will make management fairer. But when I look closer, I see something else: the same struggles wearing new faces. Injustice, just rebranded.
A gig worker, dismissed by an app he can’t argue with.
A freelancer, chasing payment across jurisdictions that don’t recognize her as an employee.
A remote worker, monitored by a system that tracks productivity but forgets humanity.
We’ve built a world where work can travel across continents — but accountability still refuses to leave its cubicle.
I believe the question India faces today isn’t just about how we work. It’s about who we work for — and what we’re willing to lose in the name of efficiency.
Progress without protection isn’t evolution; it’s erosion.
Flexibility without fairness isn’t freedom; it’s fragility.
Technology has given us power to create, connect, and collaborate like never before. But it has also created a dangerous illusion — that automation equals advancement. The truth is, no economy can sustain itself on invisible labour and unacknowledged rights.
Every delivery rider, every data analyst, every nurse, teacher, or warehouse worker — they are not statistics of a digital economy; they are the economy. The algorithms that manage them are only as ethical as the humans who build them.
If the last century was about protecting workers from machines, this century is about protecting them through machines.
The future of work should not be defined by who can adapt fastest, but by who refuses to be left behind.
Let’s remember — technology is our tool, not our compass.
Because while machines may organize work, only humans can give it meaning.
And meaning, in the end, is what every law — and every society — must strive to protect.
| Rishabh Bitola is an entrepreneur, editor-in-chief, and advocate for accessible and sustainable development. As Editor-in-Chief of Legal Firms Magazine, he brings together diverse perspectives from law, technology, and public policy. He leads multiple ventures across technology, real estate, and healthcare, with a focus on innovation driven by ethics. Beyond business, he writes about equality, digital transformation, and the evolving relationship between people, law, and progress. His editorials and reflections are known for combining legal insight with human understanding, a blend of thought and conscience that defines his voice across every issue. |