Robocalypse: Fear of losing our jobs has returned.
In May 2020, Microsoft sacked dozens of journalist to be replaced with AI. “This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic,” said Microsoft. Not everyone remembers, but before covid 19 humans were anxious about there jobs because of “Robocyplse”. In early’s 2010, the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, described countlessly in research papers and books, seemed to invite a new wave of job destruction. Yet covid provided several options to employers- to work from home, do the job safely or shut down. But some business chose to take a different road, i.e. dismissing humans altogether.
Papers/Books that I analysed during my college assignments argue that organisations will be forced to transform or die. However, these worries can be tackled. Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew Mcafee, in their book “The Second Machine Age”, include that education is a crucial partner so that people can be prepared for the next economy and embracing policies that make sense in a radically transformed landscape.
During the pandemic, high rates of joblessness and eye-catching technology are again contributing to fears. For instance, in recent times, Googles BERT MODEL’s publication accelerated the widespread usage of advance Natural Language Processing NLP. Another worry has been about businesses adapting to new strategies to cope with the pandemic. Many organisations have now switched towards software to automate paper processing tasks that cannot be done by someone working from home. Businesses where customer inquiries are rising, such as hospitals, are employing chatbots. Furthermore, automation is the answer for many companies looking to tackle pandemic. Even before the lockdown, companies in Ireland were encouraging employees to work from home.
More substantial economic forces have assisted the effects on unemployment, like social distancing and random lockdowns. However, the pace of developing AI technologies will be gradual rather than facing any obstacles. Many jobs, especially those that are classified as “low-skilled”, are unlikely to be destroyed because, at the moment, robots cannot do that job. Similarly, workers in the face to face industries like those in salons or bars/restaurants are at high risk of contracting covid. Yet, these workers cannot be replaced by robots. Despite investing billions of dollars in automated/driverless vehicles, computers can still not replace human drivers in public transports (drivers working in public transport are most likely to contact covid 19).
The labour-intensive sector, such as hospitals and education, has also adopted the technology. Doctors and teachers can give their attention to more patients and students from there home. This will significantly impact blue-collar workers such as clerks or janitors as they are dependent on physical presence. If long-distance learning proves to be enduring, those working in cafes, taxi drivers and cleaners could find themselves out of work.
Mass unemployment due to technology seems unlikely but not impossible. If post-pandemic policies lead to increased labour costs and minimum wages, this could enable organisations to adopt robots. Reshoring manufacturing jobs could see a decline in cheap foreign labours, replacing them with robots. Productions could no longer take advantage of low-cost labour, as most meat processing industries do.
Note:If you want to know the impact of AI on the education system. Then read this article: http://collegetribune.ie/ai-can-help-the-education-sector-move-online-just-not-right-now/
