A good few decades from today, there was a time when manual labor was a significant part of a number of jobs of the day. Since then, technology has made more than remarkable progress, and as computer algorithms took over the simple tasks of the human mind, the businessman has invested more and more in the machine that could get the job done in less time and with more consistency. The labor force was in a fix over the possibility of running out of jobs that did not require as much skill and that worry carried on and is still experienced by the workers of the present day. The question for today is how is the nature of work for the labor changing as technology begins to present us with wonders each one more mind-boggling its predecessor?
There was a time when we were under the impression that even though the computer can accomplish the simple tasks which have a sequence of performance and a set of repeated tasks, there remain a few which are still outside the scope of technology. That perception, however, has changed ever since the Google Company came out with the first every self-driving car. We have always known to classify knowledge into two types being tacit and explicit. Tacit is the knowledge which does not follow any steps and cannot be developed through the use of definitive actions and set of instructions. We had always presumed that the robots can only be programmed to learn explicit knowledge which follows a series of steps. (Carr, p.16)The concept of self-driving cars, however, means that the computer has been taught tacit knowledge for the first time in very long, and this changes the undercurrents of our worries.
At this point, we can say that because of technology, the way we think and get jobs done has shifted, but what is the nature of that change and what are its consequences are matters that we are to settle down from this point forth.
The truth here is that the jobs that we have may be taken away by the Robots in the near future, but studies also show that it is going to be the blue-collar jobs that are mostly going to go. This does not however in any way imply that things are likely to change for the worse. The robots may be taking the place for the human muscle, but that has also brought about considerable economic success for the best of us. With the aid of machines in our lives, we are making progress at speeds, which may not have been considered possible otherwise. Experts say that the semiconductor technology is improving at the rate of 40 percent each year, and this has to be due to the creation of the ever intelligent machinery in between the robots that drive cars, drones, and service robots that help around the house.
What has that meant for the human workers, is the better question to answer at this point. We do agree that technological progress has in fact replaced the workers, but this also means that these robots have created other opportunities for the humans as workers and this creation of job has been faster compared to the rate at which these robots replaced us. This also means though that the demand for labor these machines have been creating now has room for a workforce that is more skilled or that has been trained to accomplish a particular set of tasks.
In all of our worries about unemployment, out sights remain cloudy to the fact that these robots could also be creating jobs for us. They helped us immensely by taking over the work which required much toil which frees us up to accomplish tasks that are more creative and are outside the scope of technology. We know that jobs could only be created through investment, and the robots are doing that very well; they are creating much more room for investment. That is possible through a concept that we discussed a while ago which says that because of the technology in our lives, the economy is growing at a faster pace than it would have with robots out of the picture. Also, because the robots are taking care of the more boring jobs, it has freed up the mother to look after their kids, the elderly to enjoy retirement and even the labor force to take on responsibilities which please us more and are towards a more creative side of our metal ability.
Never before technology took over the manual labor did we ever decide on becoming wedding planners, interior designers, bakers, or even those managing saloons. These are the jobs that we have greatly enjoyed particularly through the later years, and when we face the prospect of having to go back to more manual labor, the prospect would have us even more worried compared to the stress that robots have us feeling now.
The point is that change always scares us and makes us uncomfortable to think about the unknown, but where there is change to come; it does not necessarily mean that we have something to worry about. Yes, changing the way in which we work would require greater skill and would necessitate for us to train the people we are to employ as the labor, but there is no training or skill which once acquired could ever go to waste.
Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas. The Glass Cage: Automation and Us. Random House, 2014.
Malone, William H. Davidow, and Michale S. "What Happens to Society When Robots Replace Workers?" Harvard Business Review 10 December 2014.
Tamny, John. Why Robots Will Be The Biggest Job Creators In World History. 01 March 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2015/03/01/why-robots-will-be-the-biggest-job-creators-in-history/#1f9183c01749>.
