Today’s topic of discussion is on the future of work, and technology. The world is transitioning from the Industrial Age into the Information Age. The Internet, artificial intelligence, and big data have had impacted all aspects of modern society. Work is one major area technology has greatly benefitted, or some may say, been stealing away from humans. Is that true?
This post highlights some of the arguments by both proponents and opponents of the notion that automation is taking over our jobs. On a slightly lighter note towards the end of this post, we share an article that may help you think about your own future and if you should take the common career advice of “follow your passions”.
Yes, machines can possibly take over our jobs this time
Watch this video: The Rise of Machines – Why Automation is Different This Time
Based on two books, The Rise of the Robots and The Second Machine Age, this video explains how today’s technological advancement is different from the previous ones, and why we would have to be more groundbreaking in order to keep up with the growth of technology.
Main points of the video:
- Fewer new jobs made – more money made by companies but less people are needed
- Machine learning has enabled machines to get better at breaking down complex jobs into simple predictable tasks, and there might be no room to further specialise for humans
No, machines are far from taking over our jobs
Automation, robots, and the ‘end of work’ myth (Source: The Conversation)
“If anything, technology has not liberated people from the drudgery of work as Marx, Russell and Keynes once anticipated, but has created new constraints, invading people’s social and leisure time through the digitalisation of life.”
The authors of this article, professors from University of Manchester, suggest that not all jobs will be taken over by technology as companies still find it cheaper and faster to hire human labour for certain forms of work -low-skilled, lowly paid work- than to invest in efficient technology. They also argued that digital platforms have empowered people to gain freedom and autonomy in the gig economy.
Here’s why I’ve been telling students not to pursue their passion (Source: Ricemedia)
To bring the topic of work closer to home, think about what it means for you if technology is disrupting current jobs and industries. For those of you who have set your minds on a career aspiration (don’t worry if you haven’t, because you’re probably part of the majority), what will happen if you spent years preparing for a job in a sunset industry?
Keep an open mind, learn transferable skills. Take the advice: Don’t pursue passion, pursue meaning.
This author argues that you should not pursue your passion. It’s commonly mistaken that just by turning our hobbies or passions into our means of sustenance, we’d be able to enjoy and feel happy working. That is not entirely true. Grace Yeoh, a writer who pursued passion first, lost her way, and found her way back again, puts it aptly:
“We must figure out why we want to pursue our passion, whether for new knowledge, to expand our perspectives of the world and its cultures, to achieve a sense of accomplishment from picking up new skills and honing existing ones, or for the simple betterment of society. Once we are certain why we want to do what we love, we start to realise there is more than one way to do it.
In other words, for passion to be sustainable, the goal is to shift the focus from specific careers to the greater outcome we hope to achieve for ourselves or for others.”
What creates meaning in your life? What makes you, you?
More importantly in this discussion, how can you make yourself irreplaceable by machines (if they were really to take over our jobs)?
Further resources on the topic, and food for thought:
- Atlantic: Gig economy – a race to the bottom?
“But while freelance websites may have raised wages and broadened the number of potential employers for some people, they’ve forced every new worker who signs up into entering a global marketplace with endless competition, low wages, and little stability.”
What are the upsides of the gig economy?
What problems do you think it poses to the gig workers?
- The Guardian: Humanity prevails in the rise of technology
“No, the new jobs will have to be doing jobs where either humans excel or where we choose not to have machines. But here’s the contradiction. In fifty to hundred years time, machines will be super-human. So it’s hard to imagine of any job where humans will remain better than the machines. This means the only jobs left will be those where we prefer humans to do them.”
Why would we prefer humans over robots?
What traits make humans more desirable than machines who could possibly do our job more accurately and faster?
- Vox: Economists give both sides to the coin (Video)
What were the arguments given by both sides?
Which do you find more believable?
Are there missing information that would help make their arguments stronger?
What do you think about the topic? Are you more convinced that automation will take away our jobs, or otherwise?
Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash