Automation is the future but what are the risks that it holds? Many jobs within the transportation, manufacturing, and storage industries are at stake. However, the promise of a better future is also there. The goal of every automation project is to raise efficiency and therefore productivity and on the societal level, productivity gains can translate to prosperity.
Automation can be divisive. It excites half the population and scares the other. But whether we like it or not, automation will be at the heart of our next digital transformation. Unlike the previous waves of automation, however, the future ones might strip away more jobs than they create, at least in the short term.
Our friends at Fortunly crunched the numbers and found that 25% of jobs in the United States are at high risk of automation. The transportation, manufacturing, and storage industries are the most exposed.
Despite the immediate negative impact of automation on the workforce, its potential to elevate customer service is too good to pass up. Robots of different forms are expected to speed up the delivery of products, provide greater conveniences, offer deeper personalization, and promote a higher quality of service.
How will businesses, economies, and societies gain from automation? What challenges will they face?
Promises
Artificial intelligence is going to take marketing to new heights. When it becomes sophisticated enough, AI will help marketers target individual people with dynamic landing pages and programmatic ads. Computers will aid marketers in presenting the best pieces of content at the times and on the days with the highest chances of consumer exposure.
When it comes to big data and analytics, machine learning is already playing a vital role in understanding heaps of information and complex statistics. Compared to humans, computers glean actionable and measurable insights from data without relying on guesswork.
Chatbots allow on-demand customer service 24/7. Thanks to their access to relevant data, these digital representatives can produce quality answers to specific questions.
Furthermore, autonomous vehicles hope to promote better fuel economy, while reducing accidents and pollution.
The goal of every automation project is to raise efficiency and therefore productivity. History shows that production-rate increases and labor-cost decreases are instrumental in lowering the prices of goods, keeping inflation low, driving up wages, and setting the stage for sustained economic growth.
On the societal level, productivity gains can translate to prosperity. Will wealth be distributed equally? That is another story. Nevertheless, automation is key to unlocking the production potential of companies around the globe. In implementing automation, companies will collectively contribute to a country’s revenue, one way or another.
Challenges
Technologists have made commendable advancements in the past few years. But there are several reasons why automation is not developing as fast as desired.
First - talent shortages.
Shortage of talent has always been an issue in any technological domain, and automation is no exception. It is still hard to find competent personnel who will properly implement automation technology. The need for vocational and technical training to develop the necessary skills could not be more pronounced.
Second - cost.
Automation development and implementation is not cheap. Until computerized labor, in general, becomes more affordable than manual labor, much like innumerous cases in the past five decades, businesses will not consider automation very cost-effective.
Third - data availability.
Automated systems can’t perform the tasks they are designed to with information lacking in quality and/or quantity. As long as enough people fear the implications of compromised data privacy and security, certain technologies might not generate intended results.
The Bottom Line
In our automated future, there will certainly be winners and losers. Although robots will never replace humans in all areas, we might see significant worker displacement and dramatic changes in certain communities.
These serious issues should be discussed and addressed as early sooner rather than later. But we should not allow them to jeopardize automation development allowing the Fourth Industrial Revolution to veer off course.
