Share this on
Robots and Artificial Intelligence, changing the labour market
Dino Collazzo
Increasingly automated companies, algorithms able to gather and process data in fractions of a second, Internet of Things and robotics: will the new technological era create job opportunities or eliminate them altogether? Just as with the first industrial revolution, the industry’s concerns appear to be much the same. The answer lies in the ability to manage changes.
From a cloud of smoke, produced by the first steams engines, to cloud computing. Technology has triggered the fourth industrial revolution. Nevertheless, today as two centuries ago, concerns appear to be much the same, and one in particular is the cause of growing uneasiness in the public at large: will the new technological era create job opportunities or eliminate them altogether? Both options seem plausible, especially in view of the fact that the changes currently taking place stem from a high degree of innovation which has produced two major schools of thought: some are convinced that developing digital infrastructures will lead to the industry’s growth with positive repercussions on the job market, while others view it as one of the reasons behind a great number of job losses. Difficult to say what will happen next.
The future, in fact, cannot be forecasted but created. Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, automation and robotics, augmented reality and big data are the cornerstones of the next millennium’s socio-economic development, and will drastically change current production models as well as the job market. But how this will happen depends much on the use companies will make of these technologies and how quickly workers will “digest” these changes. Thus, actions aimed at regulating such a transformation, at an institutional level, are Paramount, if changes are to have a positive impact on the lives of everyone: on-going personnel training, higher standards of education, adequate employment protection policies, a strong welfare state and reinvestment of profits into company assets rather than dividends. The key word, at least during this new phase, is: resilience.
As previously stated, no one can foretell the future; however, a thorough study of available data can do much in detecting changes well ahead of time, thus making it possible to find adequate solutions. Looking at the latest McKinsey report, “A Future That Works: Automation, Employment and Productivity”, about half of the current labour force will be affected by automation. The study considered two thousand different jobs and analysts clearly stated that over 60% of these can have, as of today, up to 30% of their activities performed automatically. The sectors that will be particularly exposed to these changes are those involved in data collection, data processing, manual and automated activities in production lines.
In the manufacturing sector this is already happening. Just think at how automation has replaced man in performing repetitive tasks, in moving goods along the production lines and in data collection and processing. The fact that quite a number of jobs – up to 10% according to several analysts – will be performed entirely by machines in the near future is beyond doubt. However, it is equally true that the vast majority of current working activities will undergo a series of transformations and new trades are likely to appear. The real challenge is understanding how, and how quickly, these changes will affect business. The risk is that a rise in unemployment will be created more by a lack of technical upgrading on the part of many individual firms rather than the technological evolution per se. A “natural selection” will take place between those who are investing in smart manufacturing processes and those who cling to more traditional models, with the result that those who are failing to invest in new technologies and training now, will soon be out of the market.
The future, in fact, cannot be forecasted but created. Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, automation and robotics, augmented reality and big data are the cornerstones of the next millennium’s socio-economic development, and will drastically change current production models as well as the job market. But how this will happen depends much on the use companies will make of these technologies and how quickly workers will “digest” these changes. Thus, actions aimed at regulating such a transformation, at an institutional level, are Paramount, if changes are to have a positive impact on the lives of everyone: on-going personnel training, higher standards of education, adequate employment protection policies, a strong welfare state and reinvestment of profits into company assets rather than dividends. The key word, at least during this new phase, is: resilience.
As previously stated, no one can foretell the future; however, a thorough study of available data can do much in detecting changes well ahead of time, thus making it possible to find adequate solutions. Looking at the latest McKinsey report, “A Future That Works: Automation, Employment and Productivity”, about half of the current labour force will be affected by automation. The study considered two thousand different jobs and analysts clearly stated that over 60% of these can have, as of today, up to 30% of their activities performed automatically. The sectors that will be particularly exposed to these changes are those involved in data collection, data processing, manual and automated activities in production lines.
In the manufacturing sector this is already happening. Just think at how automation has replaced man in performing repetitive tasks, in moving goods along the production lines and in data collection and processing. The fact that quite a number of jobs – up to 10% according to several analysts – will be performed entirely by machines in the near future is beyond doubt. However, it is equally true that the vast majority of current working activities will undergo a series of transformations and new trades are likely to appear. The real challenge is understanding how, and how quickly, these changes will affect business. The risk is that a rise in unemployment will be created more by a lack of technical upgrading on the part of many individual firms rather than the technological evolution per se. A “natural selection” will take place between those who are investing in smart manufacturing processes and those who cling to more traditional models, with the result that those who are failing to invest in new technologies and training now, will soon be out of the market.
