In today’s corporate culture, technology has evolved to
the point where millions of people have already been phased out of their job so
that they can be replaced by a robot. Of
course, nobody considered how having automated factories running twenty-four
seven would affect the environment, so I would like to weigh to weigh the pro’s
and cons of automation in the workplace.
One pro of automation is that it raises the price for human labor in
service oriented jobs, such as baristas at Starbucks were according to Timothy
B. Lee in his article Automation
is making human labor more valuable than ever he argues in his article
that automation makes people want a human touch in their product and that
people are willing to pay more for that as well. Another Pro for automation is worker safety
as it also removes people from a hazardous workplace, and OSHA
itself had a hand in promoting automation and robotics in factories. Now for the disadvantages, one of which is
obvious is worker displacement which does induce a period of emotional distress
in their lives. Another disadvantage
that Britannica enlightens upon is the cost of automation itself being a prohibitive
factor, and higher levels of maintenance to maintain your machines as well. Also, you have to consider how rigid machines
are in their production, unlike humans who can be flexible in what they are
making as well. In their next to last
paragraph, Britannica, brings up the point of whether automated technology will
subjugate workers and invade the privacy of the individual citizen.
Commented on Heather
Faulkner and Betty Mae Miller
I should have 25 points by now
I really like that you bring up the automation of processes. I do believe that there will be an increase of robots and things that will be done by machines, but I also think that this can help bringing new jobs, as these robots have to get maintenance done and they cannot always do everything by themselves. I also think that there will always be certain things that cannot be done by robots, so I do not think that it will ever get to the point where we do not need people at all.
ReplyDeleteTrue, until AI beat entropy, human will need regularly service automated processes. However, there is key distinction between the jobs automation creates versus the jobs automation displaces.
DeleteThe jobs automation creates are fundamentally different than the job they replace. For example, a machine replaces a line worker at the Nissan plant who places tires on the cars. The average blue-collar worker does not need extensive training or degree or certificates to put tires on the car. However, if that line worker decides to service the machine that replaced his job (assuming that automation creates a 1-1 job creation/replacement), he would need extensive training first. My point is this: while automation creates jobs, it does not creates jobs for the demographics that it displaces.
Automating the workplace and freeing people from repetitive, unchallenging, ungratifying labor would be great... if we can figure out how to insure that all those displaced laborers will still receive a basic income and can fill their days productively and rewardingly. Maybe put them to work constructing renewable infrastructure, for now, and in the longer term educating themselves about the possibilities of life in the post-industrial economy.
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