Automation-Revolution And The Future Of Our Jobs

Introduction

We are not unaware of the advances in technology which has caused the automation of various aspects of our lives that were initially characterized by human physical labour. But just like you may also know; these have their own hitches. A speculation was once made that the advent of technology would; among other things; cause humans to live a sedentary life because they would be heavily dependent on technology and would be less reliant on their physical strength. Okay; that's not just all; in this survey, we would be looking at the attendant effects of advancements in technology as it relates to the future of our jobs.

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: KUKA Roboter GmbH. Public Domain licensed]

The age of automation revolution

Okay! Truth be told; we are in another phase of revolution. And similar to what happened in the previous era of industrial revolution, this era has also been greeted with massive input of technology-driven products. But unlike the era of industrial revolution, this era has moved even further to the creation of Artificial Intelligence-driven technology (technologies that run on AI autonomously).

What idea does this give you in relation to our jobs? Well, if you are not already thinking what I'm thinking, then I may help you out here with the words of the late demised theoretical physicist; Professor Stephen Hawking:

AI and automation will decimate middle class jobs. - Stephen Hawking. Source [paraphrased by me]

Okay! This statement was made over 2years ago at the World Economic Forum Meeting. But permit me to say this; automation has already started decimating jobs; and the major impact is felt in the manufacturing sector. Reason behind this is very simple: The increase in AI has created the ability for these machines to work autonomously without much input from humans. For example: the task that would normally take some people some time to complete can be done by a single AI in lesser time; and even more efficiently.

But did you notice a very striking predefining word in Stephen Hawking's statement? He laid emphasis on "middle class jobs". Just like in the era of the industrial revolution which spanned from the mid 18th century to the mid 19th century, some certain jobs (that were characterized by human labour) were lost to industrialization, but some entirely new jobs were created. The same trend has also been witnessed; and is being witnessed; in this era of AI-automation revolution. Traditional middle class jobs (jobs relating majorly to human input and physical strength/presence) could be going into oblivion, but jobs that require human brain power could be created. This is just like a paradigm shift in the creation of jobs. The loss of a particular job would lead to the creation of another job. For example; the machines would need servicing, and this would require the expertise of an engineer, and boom!! job created. Okay, will this mean that these AI would determine how human jobs are created?

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: U.S Navy. Public Domain licensed]

Would AI steal your job?

A particular statement; as reported by financial times; was made by Professor Moshe Vardi (Computer science; Rice University Texas)

An era is approaching in which machines (AI, in this context) would outperform humans in almost every task. - Professor Moshe Vardi. Source. [Paraphrased by me]

Let us relate the above statement to the statement made by Elon Musk (CEO Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralinks)

... AI would be an extension of humans. - Elon Musk. Source. [Paraphrased by me]

Okay let's make a little inference. Remember it was said that one of the types of jobs that would be relatively unaffected by the AI-automation revolution would be the jobs that require human cognitive abilities. Are you getting any insight already? Ok, let me buttress a point with the statement from one respected proponent of emerging technology and futurist; Ian Pearson:

AI could be billion times smarter than humans. - Ian Pearson. Source. [Paraphrased by me]

Now if AI attains and surpasses the human level of cognitive abilities; what would be the effect of this on even the jobs that are the absolute prerogative of humans alone? There could be a takeover too, since AI can do it more efficiently.

[Image Source: Pixabay. CC0 licensed]

No wonder some Futurist (the likes of; Elon Musk, Stephen hawking, Ian Pearson, Peter Diamandis, Ray Kurzweil) have proposed that humans would merge with AI to be able to maintain relevance in this era of advances in AI. But is this a feasible panacea to this challenge?

A particular survey was published, which speculates that by the year 2030, over 800million jobs would be lost to AI worldwide (this is gotten from the systematic reviews of the current rate of jobs losses to AI). And of course, this will create a massive irregularity in the income levels of people; especially; of the middle-class-cadre jobs (because their jobs would be replaced by automation).

So the question is this: Would these automation lead to a jobless and workless future for humans? Okay, let me try to answer this question in my own opinion. The sole purpose of anyone establishing any manufacturing industry is to make profit, and also to increase output with the effective minimum input. Okay! Has AI fulfilled this requirement? The answer is an emphatic "YES". But at what expense? Remember, any established technology comes with its own perks. Maybe at the expense of our human jobs. Would humans be able to keep up and cope with the future in which AI would render humans almost irrelevant? Well, one thing I believe is this; humans will always have a way to circumvent these challenges to prove our supremacy and superiority over machines.

Conclusion

We have seen the attendant effect of technology on the jobs of humans as this era keeps advancing in the field of AI and automation. But has this advancement done more harm to humans than good? Well, apart from the loss of jobs (which also led to the creation of some other jobs), I wouldn't say it has done more harm. But that's my own opinion, and everyone is entitled to theirs. But remember, technology is still advancing.

Thanks for reading

References for further reading: Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, Ref4, Ref5

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