V. Shankar spoke at the Forbes Global CEO Conference held in Hong Kong from 26 – 27 September 2017.

The net loss of jobs from disruptive technology is stoking nationalism and populism globally, Gateway Partners CEO V. Shankar said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference underway in Hong Kong.

“When I look at the future, I think it’s a bit of a glorious contradiction,” the ex-Standard Chartered banker turned investor said. “We live in a Dickensian world. ‘It’s was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.’”

“On the hope and bright light side: You’re obviously got emerging markets becoming the engines and dynamos of global growth. You’re going to have fantastic improvements in healthcare. More and more human beings are going to live as long as Forbes – 100 years and plus. You’re going to have fantastic improvements in food, agriculture, access to stuff—whether it’s information or entertainment,” he said. Some 140 million people are becoming middle class every year — “a fantastic engine of growth. That’s on the positive side,” Shankar said. “On the negative side, I think what technology is doing is exceptionally destructive to the global economic order,” he said. “It’s about loss of jobs.”