Technology is often oversold as either a panacea for the world’s problems or an unshakeable curse inflicting disruption and displacement on the most vulnerable. But historically, neither of these characterizations is accurate. From the steam engine to the personal computer, inventions have transformed societies in complex ways. On balance, however, technology has always created more jobs and economic opportunities than it has destroyed. That trend is likely to continue.Why am I so upbeat?

Despite launching the Thailand 4.0 initiative two years ago, Thailand is on track to lose as many as three million jobs over the next 20 years if it fails to adapt to new disruptive technologies, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).Thailand 4.0 is a new economic model launched by the Thai government which aims to transform the country into a high-income nation.

Although everyone in Southeast Asia can fly these days due to the proliferation of low-cost airlines, the experience is not necessarily pleasant with long queues and constantly having to present travel documents to different parties. Airports are struggling to cope with growing passenger numbers who are also becoming more demanding. This makes them good testbeds for smart technology.In Southeast Asia, Singapore’s Changi Airport is leading the charge in innovation.

As digital technologies and automation have advanced, fears about workers’ futures have increased. But, the end result does not have to be negative. The key is education.Already, robots are taking over a growing number of routine and repetitive tasks, putting workers in some sectors under serious pressure. In South Korea, which has the world’s highest density of industrial robots – 631 per 10,000 workers – manufacturing employment is declining, and youth unemployment is high.

Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist and one of the pioneers of the world wide web, once declared: The spread of computers and the internet will put jobs in two categories. People who tell computers what to do, and people who are told by computers what to do.Andreessen has since repudiated this declaration and taken a more optimistic stance. But economists, a more pessimistic bunch, are taking the possibility of this sort of bifurcated future more seriously.