Are you afraid of Automation?
Last couple of years I worked on various Automation projects to optimize process efficiency. In my last project we managed to automate a process which was costing a user 15 minutes of his time to complete. Result of this project was the reduction of this time to 6 seconds with no required user action.
Investment
Can you imagine how big this win is for a company? Of course in order to achieve this win, an investment is necessary. Analysts, developers, devops, testers, project managers etc. a team with professionals are needed to achieve this, which of course costs some money.
Willingness
While working on this project, I noticed a change in the behaviors of people working with this tool for which we implemented the automation.
In the beginning they were helpful, they shared knowledge about what data they were entering and on which pages they were doing a workaround to achieve what they wanted. This kind of business information is essential for success. You need to be very close to the business and try to understand the actions and the reasoning behind these actions to deliver a working solution.
Unwillingness
After a while some difficulties started in the process of getting knowledge. People were not very willing, or the answers were not very clear. While this project was not about reducing the head count, apparently people started to fear for their jobs. This project was about optimizing unnecessarily time consuming processes so that employees have more time for the things they need to do, want to do. But people were looking at this from a different angle.
Can’t be automated?!
While in the start of the project we were making jokes about automation, we started being careful about this later because we noticed that some people really were thinking that this Automation might have some consequences for them as well. Later I heard that in the very start they even didn’t believe that this project would succeed because “it was not automate-able and complex work” what they were doing.
Why Automation?
In the end this process is automated and it is a big win for the company in terms of efficiency, as well as reduction in human error while entering data which results in improving data quality. Also clients are happy because they have more time from the employees to help them, and their submissions are processed quicker. Win-win-win!
Is Automation Good or Bad??
In this project I have seen people really worrying about their future because of seeing the possibilities of technology. We need to see that we live in a different time where technology offers a lot of possibilities.
What do you think about Automation?
Is it good or bad?
Do you fear to lose your job one day because of Automation?
A great question, @lion200, with actual practical experience behind it.
Automation, I will say, like many things, is neither good or bad. It depends on how it is deployed, and how it will affect the human lives it either helps, hinders, or replaces. How it is used will have just as much bearing on whether it is a positive or negative.
I happen to like having work reduced. It's great when it can happen. At the same time, I can see people fearing for their jobs because there's plenty of news regarding AI and how that will change the work landscape. All kinds of jobs are supposed to evaporate over the next 10-20 years because of an increase in automation, and not everyone is going to be suited for transitioning to something else.
Does that mean we stop all automation efforts? Not necessarily. But if it does come to pass at such a high level, we need to be ready to help out those who are displaced, which means our plans for automation need to include how it will affect the human component, and how they can be helped to find some other line of work.
I don't know how that happens, but having high unemployment rates, if that indeed does come to pass, won't be a good thing.
Thanks for dropping by @glenalbrethsen!
I think this bothers the most people. Although it seems like this won’t likely happen in near future, still people are worried for this.
Maybe governments might look at “Automation” from this perspective, but I can assure you that companies where being profitable is the most important factor, this human approach is not likely to happen :( thinking about thousands of jobs in multinational companies, this would create a lot of trouble for those people who will lose their jobs...
Agreed. But how many countries are thinking 20-30 years ahead now? Sure they are thinking ahead on subjects like politics, strategies, defence etc... but is the increasing role of technology and the consequences of this included their long term forecasting? I doubt it...
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I agree with you. If the retraining and the placements into different jobs take place, the bill won't be paid by the corporations laying them off—at least not willingly. And while I believe there will be some government help (it does happen in the U.S. to some degree already), the amount of people we're potentially talking about will overwhelm the system. Without many wealthy donors to some kind of charity or or non-profit training organization, people will largely be on their own, or need to rely on family and so forth until things can be sorted out. By that time, though, I think it's tough to come back from, unless entirely new industries open up somehow.
We'll see. I'm not a total doomsdayer, but I'm also not the rosy future type, either. Somewhere in between is more likely, and that's going to be more than enough to handle, anyway.
Agreed. The amount of people who possibly will be impacted can raise very quickly when automation is implemented in an increased tempo. I hope that governments consider this, and make long term plans to cover at least a big percentage of these people. There might indeed also open new positions, and by training unemployed people, making them at least "junior" for these positions, some percentage can be covered too.
Thanks for your valuable time and feedback @glenalbrethsen. It is always a pleasure to exchange opinions with you :)
Amazing comment @glenalbrethsen
I fully agree with all you said: "it depends on how it is deployed". It really all comes down the reason why automation is being introduced and implemented. And execution itself matters a lot too.
Very true. And noone knows really. But it is damn scary.
Cheers, Piotr
It is to a degree, very scary. If AI is capable of self-learning, and it comes to those conclusions like in the movies, well, then we're stupid for even attempting such a thing. If it can be contained, confined within certain tasks, without someone coming along just to see what "can" be done, then maybe it can still work out.
As far as I know, there is nothing that cause a machine to feel. To base decisions on compassion, or illogical feelings of mercy. If that is the case, then we don't ever want AI to be put in charge of anything very important, such as determining who lives and who dies.
Automation in and of itself has been happening over the course of decades. For the most part, we call it improvements, and entire industries have sprung up around or because of them. I think as long as we don't let the AI and the autobots take over, there will always be a way for humankind to prosper. But we've got to do things more based on if we should do it, and not on if we can do it. That's what's gotten us where we are.
Thank you for being so responsive @glenalbrethsen
Hope you will have a great week ahead,
Piotr
If it comes to automation the feelings are always double. I am happy with my washing machine but feel annoyed it takes 3 hours. If I do it by hand it's cleaner and faster (and dry before the washing machine has finished if the weather is fine.).
During the industrial age, there was a lot of automation at a certain time and it was helpful and many lost their jobs.
The same is/will happen at offices and everywhere. Banks are a great example with their telebanking, no offices, etc. No people at work but a great income. The customer pays to do it himself. Doctors, hospitals are starting with the same, shops, supermarkets. A few big companies are already ruling the world people are less needed.
Soon computers will think out the new automation projects.
I see a huge difference with how life was in my childhood. Is it all really that important to win time?
Only for companies they already earn way more as ever, with fewer people at work producing 28% more work and earn less and less.
Am I afraid? Is there need to be afraid? The society is already at its end. Poverty is increasing, I have less faith my children will find a job. Its the price western countries pay for the industrialization and automation.
Even art and writing is done by computers. Homeschooling etc soon will too. Teachers are not really needed.
Do you think it will end up really bad?
There are a lot of positive sides of Automation. The project I worked for, where we decreased the time required to complete a certain process from 15 minutes to 6 seconds, was a huge win for the company. But it was a win for the people who were doing this task, because it was really "killing" for them. Going through 15-20 windows, double keying data from one system to another, a lot of waiting time in between... I can't imagine that doing this for a whole day can make someone happy!
So, unfulfilling and mostly administrative work, can be automated already. What we need to think about is how these people can be trained to do work which requires more specialty and human actions I guess. And are these people willing to learn, improve their skills etc?
Yes I believe we will end up in a world like that. I agree its great to reduce time, boring jobs, etc and people should improve but the question is: who has benefit of it? Is there more specific work at the workspot and are they able to learn?
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Difficult questions obviously :) We don't know yet...
Companies would benefit the most I guess, but are the governments ready to cover this huge move to automation? I doubt it...
The governments will be the last. They still send forms to fill out by hand and are easily hacked.
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Unfortunately :(
WOW! I like the way you think! The end is near, people!
Es la cruda realidad (It is the harsh reality)
I’ve also posted about this topic and I am afraid we will lose our jobs many will and there’s nothing we can do about it! It’s good in a sense that we taking away unfulfilling tasks but this displacement is so quick and so profit driven I see no plans to help the people it will affect! We will also need to think about all the money saved and made by automation will it just go to shareholders and make the rich even richer and centralize more wealth or should robots and AI pay an extreme form of tax
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Hi @chekohler, thanks for your comment!
I am not sure about this. While most administrative jobs/tasks are disappearing because of automation, there are also new opportunities appearing where the need for people who will implement solutions for automation increases. The more technical jobs will maybe profit from this development but also analytical jobs to analyze processes, organizing jobs, process automation jobs etc. Is it an idea to emphasize this and encourage people to follow courses?
Agreed. I don’t think companies are considering this. They just think about the increasing profit and decreasing expenses like headcounts.
As Automation requires an investment in the first place, I think any positive result will go directly into the pockets of shareholders I’m afraid :(
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Amazing comment @chekohler :)
Do you mind sharing link to this particular post of yourS?
Cheers
Piotr
Hey @crypto.piotr here is the link to my article - https://steemit.com/@chekohler/the-automation-nation-biggest-threat-to-human-life
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Thx @chekohler
Dear friend @lion200, in my opinion an automation process is good and depending on where it is implemented it will bring some results I would say uncomfortable for some. Automation accelerates production processes in the case of the food industry, which makes food production more efficient for people, the automation of basic services is very necessary for the well-being of people.
I also think that in some cases (or in its majority) it reduces labor and as a consequence some jobs, but it is also true that there are certain processes where people's labor is indispensable.
Thanks for sharing this post which I got thanks to the reference of our good friend @crypto.piotr
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Thanks for your comment @fucho80!
Based on your comment I can conclude we are on the same page :)
It has indeed a pleasant and a not very pleasant affect.
Thanks for your valuable contribution to this topic ;)
Right, we could define it as a double effect. But that's how change processes are for improving, at first they are uncomfortable but in the end people end up adapting.
You're right ;) Thanks for your contribution!
If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Bill Gates who said that "everything is programmable" or "everything can be automated".
I do not know if I got lost in the reading but I did not specifically capture the process that they tried to automate.
What I can contribute is that automation has increased in efficiency level of many processes. Although it is also true that affected many jobs in activities that usually corresponded to human beings.
Thanks for sharing, dear @lion200.
Thanks for your comment @juanmolina!
Yeah I didn't give a lot of details about what exactly is automated because I am not allowed to from the company I work for ;) You didn't miss it :)
Yes, definitely a lot of processes can be automated. But during this automation process, especially where legacy financial systems are used, it is essential to know what the current functionality is doing before making the implementation of the automation. So the analysis of "as is" situation is quite important!
Thanks for your valuable comment ;)
Situational analysis. Analysis of context. Feasibility study.
Hugs!
Exactly :)
Thanks for your comments ;)
Your writing is great. It's a pleasure to read you.
Thank you my friend :)
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Dear @lion200
Excellent publication. I would like to show my appreciation for your time and effort. Seriously amazing job.
The problem with automation is that it's cutting cost mostly on human labour. So ways of distribute economy wealth is changing and humans are kind of excluded from those benefits.
Obviously at the same time products and services are becoming cheaper and more available in mass scale. So at the end those who have resources will have higher buying power. But those losing jobs will surely enter struggling masses.
This is indeed huge win for company. But not for people hired in such a company. Basically removing cost of human labor is always great ... for company. Efficiecy sometimes isn't as great as we may think.
At the same time I do understand how the world works and being part of such a project must be AWESOME! :)
Why would you think that such a project is not about reducing the head count? I would assume that it's main drive of those who fund such a project, wouldn't you consider that to be possible truth?
Unfortunatelly people are greedy. And it usually ends up with others losing jobs to cut costs. Normal. Nothing bad about automaiton but those people fear is surely justified.
I found this topic very interesting. Hope you don't mind that I will share this post with few good friends :)
Yours, Piotr
Thanks for dropping by @crypto.piotr! And thanks for your kind words...
Well, that depends I think. The work we automated was mostly very unfulfilling, requiring users to go through a lot of windows, double keying data, waiting a lot between windows etc. From this perspective, users also benefit from this automation. This gives them more time to spend on matters they have a bigger impact on, like improving client contact.
Because the main objective was reducing the time spend for double keying, waiting, dependencies on legacy systems etc. But, I think from company perspective, reducing headcounts can be a major factor too. But they didn't publicly announced this improvement that way :) Maybe to prevent this fear among employees...
I would be glad ;) I am wondering what people think about this subject. Thanks Piotr!
Thank you for being so responsive @lion200
Hope you will have a great week ahead,
Piotr
People were scared about our worlds automation these days, still a better life than before I guess :D
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Yeah, but instead of fearing it, isn't it better to embrace it? Accept it, and try to develop yourself? In IT and software development, as you also know, we have to stay up-to-date with most recent developments. I guess this need for staying up-to-date is spreading to more jobs now.
So true! Either sta up to date or go home...however, these developments lead to a society in which not everyone needs to work anymore. Now the question, what are we all going to do with this freedom?
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Good question :)
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Hello @lion200!
Now I read your post, and I see that has caused a series of reluctant comments on the evolution of technology. All automation creates changes and we must be ready for changes, as I once told my friend @crypto.piotr: adapt, improvise and overcome.
Congratulations on the gigantic optimization of the process, in more than 100% I would say 100,000%, I wouldn't know how to begin to calculate how effective the transition of the new process was.
I am also a programmer, and I know how hard it is to optimize or automate a process and the need for interaction with the users that are part of the process.
Every progress comes with a price. Evolution never stops, it's a natural law for survival.
Cheers