How could a society with computers still use animals for physically demanding activities?

Imagine an Earth-like society that has developed into the digital age. They have computers, the Internet and most of the conveniences of the modern age, but they still use a significant animal workforce for:

• transporting members of the society over land, sea and air;
• transporting goods over land, sea and air;
• supplying power to their electronics;
• performing actions that in our world are done by heavy machinery like harvesting crops, manufacturing, large-scale construction,...

In effect, you got the Flintstones, but with modern materials instead of everything being made of stone. In addition, they have very good reasons for using animals that aren't grounded in superstition or religion.

What would these reasons be?

The animals can be different from Earth, it's just the society that's earthlike: no magic, sentient being who are inventive and full of resolve, and the entire world is in contact with one another.

posted almost 8 years ago

Nzall‭

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