Automation will be a boon or bane for human civilization?
Many captain of technology are predicting the demise of human mankind in terms of automation and artificial intelligence (AI). So the question remains the same, Will AI destroy our job or will it force for the good? Well, we have started observing the change slowly, starting from automation of Amazon stores where there is no need to pay at the counter. A person can take anything he wants from the store and the money will be deducted automatically from his prime account. Also, automation of automobile industry is also a hot topic in 2018, especially the driverless cars. The race was started by Tesla by manufacturing model S, X and not 3 and joined the race by other auto companies like Mercedes, Audi, etc.
Here is a summary of some AI technologies that will be the future in 2018,
· AI-Assisted Robotic Process Automation: Automating organizational workflows from development to testing phase in every industry. Example vendors: Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, Contextor, EdgeVerve Systems, Kofax, Kryon Systems, NICE, Pegasystems, Redwood Software, Softomotive, Symphony Ventures, UiPath, and WorkFusion.
· Customer Self-Service: Kiosks machine deployed in some immigration checkpoints in the airports, interactive digital signage and self-checkout. Example vendors: ECRS, Four Winds Interactive, Fujitsu, Kiosks Information Systems, NCR, Olea Kiosks, Panasonic, Protouch Manufacturing, Samsung, and Stratacache.
· Virtual Assistants: These devices were developed as research project but with increasing response time and reducing the time of communication between client and server, these devices are fully developed to meet consumer needs. These devices are usually meant to fulfill Business –to-consumer scenario, in which a consumer can order a Uber, ask any cooking recipe, etc. Example vendors: Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Dynatrace for ITSM, Google Now and Google Assistant, IBM Watson conversational interface, IBM Watson Virtual Agent, IPsoft Amelia, Microsoft Cortana, Nuance Communications Nina, and Samsung Bixby.
With all these advancement in AI and automating technologies are affecting jobs, and it offers a litany of suggestions for how to deal with the upheaval. It estimates that automated vehicles could threaten or alter 2.2 million to 3.1 million existing U.S. jobs. That includes the 1.7 million jobs driving tractor-trailers, the heavy rigs that dominate the highways. But even though there are many people who were jobless but we should think how many jobs were created because of AI, how many companies are breeding in Silicon Valley due to AI, now many people are saved daily in medical or in predicting earthquakes, etc due to AI.
New jobs will be created; existing roles will be redefined; and workers will have the opportunity to switch careers. The challenge particular to this generation is managing the transition. Income inequality is likely to grow, possibly leading to political instability; and the individuals who need to retrain for new careers won’t be the young, but middle-aged professionals.
It is often argued that technological progress always leads to massive shifts in employment but that at the end of the day the economy grows as new jobs are created. However, that’s a far too facile way of looking at the impact of AI and automation on jobs today.
References:
[3] https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/30/16719092/automation-robots-jobs-global-800-million-forecast