INNOVATION DRIVEN BY CAPITALISM

 “What is a man capable of doing to make more money?”

It’s now a trend that new phone models are released before you even catch up with the new functionalities of the last phone you bought. All of a sudden, adverts are all over and you are being convinced that the new model is better than the one they sold you last month. Really now? Some of these companies have been very deliberate to release new models in shorter intervals to make more money out of our insatiable need of owning the latest. I am not a sadist and neither am I anti-tech. On the contrary, I appreciate the far technology has come and the way our lives have been bettered by these advancements in technology. From high tech illness, diagnostic equipment built by tech giants like General Electric (GE) and Philips to a simple video call that couldn't be imagined a while back. I appreciate the goodies technology has brought and the scientists, engineers and researchers who have made this possible. They invest a lot of resources in research and thinking to come up with solutions to solve world problems. However, I am concerned because innovation is slowly being swallowed whole by capitalism or in other words, ‘love of money’.

We all remember the March 2019 tragic plane crash of the Ethiopian airline flight 302 en route to Nairobi JKIA from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. The Boeing Company has been in the spotlight and the big question is whether the accident was preventable in the first place bearing in mind that a similar plane model (Boeing 737 max 8) operated by Lion Air (flight 610) had crashed in October 2018, just five months prior. Similar concerns of errors in flight control software called MCAs (Maneuvering characteristics Augmentation System) running in 737 max 8 avionics were raised when the crash of flight 610 occurred. Rumour has it that the Boeing Company has lowered its standards of safety in manufacturing and assembly of their planes to increase their profit margin by saving cost on materials, labour and time. The Boeing Company is a business and at the end of the day they have to make money but the uncontrolled chase for-profits could be interfering with engineering and scientific judgement at the Company. Former staff members, some of whom left the company voluntarily, have in the past expressed their concerns of what has been going on. William Boeing must be turning in his grave when he hears of a company that he founded and dearly loved becoming a joke. As an aviation enthusiast, I don’t think I will ever forgive Boeing.

Engineering has come of age and design philosophies have been refined and fewer assumptions are being made hence more reliability of designs. Engineers and scientist are able to predict how long their designs will perform and last and this is where knowledge is being abused in my opinion. We all know of the famous Land Rover Defender. This is a car that has maintained its reputation from world war one to date because of its reliability. It is said that three-quarters of all land rover defenders ever made are still in use or at least can be patched up and be up and running. Automotive designers back then used to over design because many assumptions were made and they wanted to be safe. Nowadays engineers and scientist are more enlightened due to advancements in technology and research. Some of the capitalist scientists know how best to make money by deliberately determining the design life and performance of their products. I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed that devices now break down faster than they used to a while back. These short-lived products are what are called ‘Chinku’ in my country Kenya. Any Kenyan reading this gets the joke. Not once have electronic devices broken down a month after expiry of the warranty. Wow! What a coincidence!

Gilead science is United States Company we have trusted to make HIV medication but is busy toying around to maintain their monotony. And we will keep telling sad stories of many companies that survive on lies and extortion with the hope things will change. It is also my hope that young innovators and small company start right and become consistent in principle as they grow.

The integrity question still remains- ’What is a man capable of doing to get more money?’ As we nurture the new breed of cooperate leaders, researchers, scientist and engineers we strive to instil values such as integrity and honesty in the lives of young people.

Money is an enabler of innovation. Yes, we need to grow the economy, create jobs and provide scientific and engineering solutions to world problems but we need a balance and to be more people-centred, otherwise, we will turn out to be a man eat man society which we already are.

By Kelvin Macharia