Low birthrates a sign of evolution

Over the past several decades, Taiwan has undergone a transformation in its societal values surrounding survival, ways of living and the meaning of life itself — all within the span of just two or three generations. Generational conflict is the inevitable consequence of the shift from a mindset of collectivism to one of individualism. In an agrarian society marked by an era of material scarcity, and during the transition to more labor-intensive agriculture, industry and commerce, human beings were the primary source of productivity.

Older generations endured great hardship to raise and sustain their families. Motivated by the belief that “even a blade of grass is nourished with a drop of dew” (一枝草，一點露) and the minimal cost of child-rearing, adding another child to the family meant little more than providing one extra pair of chopsticks. Three generations living under one roof could support one another, and having many children and grandchildren not only was a great help with farm work, but also served as a vital pillar for parents facing the burdens of poverty and illness in the last years of their life. Raising children was thus a way to secure support in old age, enjoy family life and carry on the family name.

However, the spread of Western ideology brought individualism to the East, changing the purpose and meaning of having children. Young people, fearing they cannot afford to raise a family, now choose to opt out of marriage and having children. Instead, they pursue material comforts, travel and personal enjoyment, believing this to be the key to achieving a happy life. We cannot fault them for this. Perhaps it is some form of divine foresight — a precautionary measure taken to reduce birthrates and cut the world’s population — to prepare for the era of artificial intelligence (AI), avert mass unemployment and prevent famine. Only by aligning with the course of nature can we face the widespread adoption of AI in the coming decades without risking mass starvation.

Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari warned in his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, that future technologies could give rise to a vast “useless class” — a group who could become economically and politically redundant due to AI and automation — causing many people to be left behind. If society insists on the mindset that people should have more children for “the good of the nation” and maintains high birthrates, the next generation could grow up struggling with structural unemployment and an unequal distribution of resources. The younger generation’s collective subconscious tendency to not marry or have children might well be a biological instinct — a form of herd response to dramatic environmental changes.

This could be a mechanism meant to substantially reduce the population before the widespread adoption of AI takes hold, avoiding the collective tragedies of mass unemployment, world hunger and social upheaval in the decades to come.