Many people are afraid that machines will take over the jobs of many workers, thus making unemployment soar. I tend to disagree with this sentiment, just look at how the creation of the computer affected NASA and other such organizations with their hiring of human calculators. They hired less of them, but hired more people to run the computer eventually evening it out.
Recently the Wall Street Journal posted an article about the Robot Apocalypse in the retail industry, specifically Amazon. Amazon has been a pioneer in the artificial intelligence and robotics industry, thus needing less labor from people, or so you would think. They have grown their distribution centers with each advancement, because it allows them to produce more goods, allowing them to lower prices and accommodate higher demand, they then need to hire many more workers to deal with this increased demand. People seem to think that technology could spell out the end of human labor, but firms know that to make any money their consumers have to have money, so they will always keep hiring as long as that is apparent. There are great examples throughout history of new technology being released that had an initial drop in labor, but over time the growth in operations from said technology allowed for the hiring of even more people. I think most folks overlook the fact to grow firms have to find a cheaper way of doing business and once they really start to grow they have to have more labor to meet their new demand. So overall I think that technological advancements, especially in the artificial intelligence and robotics industries could really help grow the economy and create even more jobs for people in the long run.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-fear-not-the-robot-apocalypse-1504631505
I agree - I think as robotics become more common, more jobs will be created that relate to the development or maintenance of robots. Think of how many jobs today are related to cars (sales, design, auto repair) when a hundred years ago they were the new threatening technology.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this I had the assumption that more machines and computers would cause less jobs for people. However, it makes sense that the more computers and machines implemented, the more opportunities there will be for people to run the machines and computers. I just wonder if at a certain point the machines and computers will be so advanced that they will be able to run themselves without the need of people watching over them. If our technology ever reaches that level, it seems like it could take jobs away from people.
ReplyDeleteArtificial intelligence should help create jobs and improve our country. Yes, it may take away some jobs. However, technology is helping us keep up with other major countries (China) and allowing us to have more job openings (monitoring and working this technology). I also thought that technology would take away jobs before I read this. You made some important points to persuade me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that more computers and machines could help create more jobs. However, this new technology would need more people who are highly educated to run these machines. The people who lack this type of education could suffer, including them losing their jobs. Also, the companies would have to train their employees on how to use this new technology. The employee’s overall income in the long run would increase. Companies would then look for more employees, but people who don’t have the right education for the job wouldn’t be able to compete with the other employees. This could lead to more unemployment which could hurt the economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bri. While the introduction of new technology is beneficial for economic growth, many of the jobs that it will add will require more skills and training and will eliminate the lower skill jobs that this technology is replacing. While the number of jobs may remain roughly the same, the workers who are able to hold these positions will change.
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