We have always embraced technology, as it has helped us and made many dreams possible in less time than we thought. But there is no need of being blind. In the current times, it is difficult to determine if a machine can do the same job with the same efficiency if it is compared with a person.
In fact, we are afraid of machines, robots and artificial intelligence because we know that these technologies are far superior to us in several fields. And this is one of the most compromising fears that science fiction movies have tried to express for the last decades. Will robots take our jobs in the future? Is this really the future of human employment?
The industrial revolution
We actually have seen three industrial revolutions in our history, and every each one of them gave us better quality of life, cheaper goods and high played jobs. Although different, all of the three share something in common: many of the most important workers were completely dispatched from their jobs. And this is because there was an extremely drastic paradigm shift, as now it was unnecessary for the owners of the companies to contract so many workers for hard working, as many machines could make the job of a man in less time and with great precision.
What happened to most of those men? Many starved to death, with difficulties in order to survive the upcoming changes in the economy of our world. But some of them managed to readapt themselves to the new times to come, learning now how to build, repair and even control the machines that left them without a job in a moment.
If we analyze the position of man in the world of the present and the past, we can perfectly determine why are why so scared of losing our jobs in the future. The jobless future is really terrifying just because when you look back to our history people plowed fields and planted seeds all the time, then of course the plow came along and then people got displaced to work in factories. Then those factories became more automatized, not needing to be controlled by workers at the same time. And this is becoming a standard; many robots no longer need human control in order to function.
It is crucial to note that training a worker in order to control a machine in the first industrial revolution was not so difficult, as the process only needed some weeks until the employer could work without any problems. Now this is a great concern, as machines and robots are so complex that some of them are only controlled by professionals with many years of experience.
The evolution of the tasks performed by machines
Peasants and farmers are going to be necessary, but even they use new machinery that makes them fulfill their duties with ease. Mailing is going to be part of our lives, because communicating is essential in human life – but globalization came and thanks to the internet phenomenon, we can receive messages in no time just by clicking. And delivery is now as effective as never before, considering that in the US it is always better to shop online than going to a store in order to get what you need or want.
It is undeniable that we are in the midst of a new era due to the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence. It is unbelievable to the eyes of many, but our world is evolving faster than ever before – considering that the use of computers and smartphones is completely globalized in all parts of the world.
And this is the part in which our fears commence. Reports state that in England, there is a high possibility that maybe 1.5 millions of workers could be fired from their jobs because they are no longer needed: in fact, there are machines that replace them.
The position of humanity in a jobless world
Something that is difficult to accept, but it is a shocking truth is that there are machines right now that can do jobs with greater quality and efficiency than human workers. What would be of us if this situation continues?
Engineers, lawyers and even professionals in many areas could lose their jobs easily due to the incredible advances. Many translators doubted the precision and the quality of many digitalized translators on internet, but in the current times it is very important to note that online translator programs have grown so much that their jobs are being more precise little by little, shocking most professionals in that field.
Do not feel afraid, mankind is strong
However, drastic changes are always going to come to the table, and it is impossible to stop them. No matter what jobs a robot could take on, new jobs are going to be created and humans will have to be able to adapt themselves to the new tasks, no matter what. Because that is our nature – to be able to change and to adapt to all scenarios. As a species, that is our reason of living and that is why we do not need to be afraid. Just we have to keep moving forward.