UPDATED 09:45 EDT / DECEMBER 17 2014

The rise of automation: Opportunity or a disaster in the making?

small__54133394The idea that technology will eventually do away with the need for manual, human labor is nothing new. Ever since the first enterprising farmers began using cattle to plough their fields instead of doing the job manually, workers have been fearful of losing their jobs. But while that may have happened, it’s also true that most able-bodied people manage to find an alternative way to make a living.

But this time around, it could be different. Writing in The New York Times, Claire Cain Miller claims that the rapid rise of automation and digitization will have an irreversible effect on society. Miller believes that advances in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence mean that a huge number of tasks, from administering medicines to flying aircraft, can now be automated. And it’s happening so quickly that we simply won’t be able to create enough new jobs to replace the ones that are lost to these new technologies.

The worry is that such technologies could eliminate the need for all manner of established professions, including factory workers, hotel staff, doctors, pilots, taxi drivers and more.

That may be so, but it’s difficult to predict what will happen in the future, even five or ten years from now. For example, few people were talking about mobile or cloud computing, Big Data, or 3D printing just a decade ago.

No one is denying that technology will take away some jobs, but it can also lead to the creation of new opportunities too. Earlier this year, CIO.com detailed the top ten in-demand IT skills, and few of these existed ten years ago. Skills in areas such as cybersecurity, Big Data, NoSQL, Hadoop and Cloud are all in big demand right now, and have even led to the creation of dedicated university courses to try and fill the gap.

Technology has also made it easier to create new businesses and services. Thanks to APIs, it’s relatively simple to build a new mobile application. Thanks to cloud computing, it’s possible to launch new startups like Crowdchat, as SiliconANGLE founder John Furrier did so last year. Thanks to social media, it’s easier for companies and entrepreneurs to connect with partners and customers and expand their audience. Thanks to websites like Elance.com, freelancers can find numerous opportunities to work, without even leaving their homes. And thanks to the rise of smartphones, it’s now possible for companies like Uber.Inc to disrupt entire industries and create thousands of new jobs in the process.

Automation might spell the end for many professions, but it will also lead to the creation of many new ones. People, just like technology, are extremely good at adapting themselves. And those people will be able to take advantage of new technologies as they emerge and use them to create new businesses and new opportunities. People can use them to develop even better technologies and more importantly, come up with the one thing technology will never be able to automate – the creation of new ideas.

photo credit: Pierre Metivier via photopin cc


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