Technological Advancements and Repercussions on Humanity
The perception and arguments regarding the impact on technological advancements are capricious. On one end, critics such as Derek Thompson posit that the technological age will promote good outcomes. These include improved human freedom, reduction in poverty due to production of affordable goods and services, improved economic outcomes, creation of technology-based employment and provision of a workforce with a different set of skills (Thompson). On the other end, technological advancements will increase poverty, limit freedom and happiness alongside limiting the potential for development in diverse skill sets. The viewpoint of this report is that technological advancements will lead to holistic mass unemployment, increase risks of poverty among people consequentially leading to reduced freedom and happiness in the human race (Harari; West). The paper presents a discussion point on why technological advancement presents adverse outcomes for humans despite the growing investment and monetization on automation in the world today.
Technological advancements will promote unemployment from all sectors, industries and job markets. The impact of technological advancement is the creation of technological unemployment. Thompson points out those computer scientists besides software engineers will invent ways to rid humans of their purpose in the job market. As a result, the number of jobs declines steadily and permanently (Thomspon). The same writer indicates that the same professionals that displace the purpose of humans in the workplace can have the power to put them back (Thompson). The myopic argument presented by Thompson does not regard the rippling effect of technological advancement on unemployment from a holistic viewpoint. The prediction is that in the next decades, the purpose of humans will be outperformed by automation, including artificial intelligence (Harari). More and more jobs will be fitted with robots and machines quickly replacing humans. Research conducted by the Boston University reiterates that automation leads to the elimination of jobs in the United States of America. It has been the phenomenon since the 1950s in industries such as manufacturing, technology and service (Boston University). Thus, the practical approach in unemployment argument is that automation will lead to increased unemployment and joblessness in the future if not current era.
Additionally, technological advancements will not lead to immediate and consequential adaptation to new skill-sets. The ideology of advancements in technology is the correlation with humans. According to Thompson, with the advent of technological innovations, humans will be required to boost their skill-set to work along with robots and artificial intelligence machines. The premise of this argument is that individual skill-sets will adopt the growing advancement, including improved emotional and cognition decision-making (Thompson). The technological advancements require two options. Jobs created through technology require improved cognitive and handling skills in workers, including non-routine tasks. The downside is that statistics show there is an increase in individuals seeking less and less cognitive and reasoning skills, including waiters and janitors (Ra et al.). These individuals are not willing to look for high-paying high skill jobs that are cognizant with technology advancements.
On the other end, the replacement of workers with technology may prompt these workers to seek skills that work hand-in-hand with robots and machines. The trend in lack of preparedness and lack of proper re-learning on skills advancements in humans are reported. Empirical evidence suggests that in the last three decades the growing re-learning curve to match-up skill requirement in the technological world is slow (West)The data suggest that the ever-increasing technological replacement of humans in the workplace will not necessarily promote a good outcome for improved jobs for humans. The risk is associated with the lack of improved initiative from workers to advance skill learning that are aligned with machine learning, machine operation and cognitive skills in handling technology (Ra et al.). The avenue of improving skill development in humans does not match-up technological advancements in high numbers in workers. Therefore, skill development is dismal among workers willing to correlate with machines in the workplace.
The consequential effect of technological advancement is the increase in poverty. Thompson argues that technological advancements provide more job creation in the industries than the perceived ideology that such improvements lead to the replacement of workers, thus, reduced income (Harari). The argument stems from the idea that mechanization of occupations has improved job employment. For instance, novel industries such as telecommunications, computing and software higher more people compared to mainstream industries including retail, food and beverage industries (Thompson). As such, productivity has increased as a result of improved automation in industries across America. Concurrently, automation has made goods and services cheaper for human consumption and use (Thompson). However, the premise of this argument is presumptuous.
Technology advancements have led to increased poverty among workers. Primarily, technological implementations have led to reduced wages and salaries for workers (Ra et al.). Robots, artificial intelligence and computers can conduct more performance-oriented tasks compared to humans. The rationality in this argument is that machines provide higher quality input and throughout compared to humans. Accordingly, human participation in the workplace has dramatically reduced. The disruption for the workers means that there is less income for unemployed people. Due to this, the risk of poverty increase in the country will be noticeable (Thompson). Disposable income of the workers will significantly reduce. The potential to purchase the cheaper goods and services, as explained by Thompson due to reduced operational and production costs, by jobless workers will not be realized. According to the study report by Ra et al., the steady rise in job employment in the IT-based industries has had little impact on the creation of jobs in other sectors, including manufacturing and distribution. As a result, there has been an increase in job replacement within the manufacturing industries which has rendered most of the workers jobless. It may explain why poverty is a common denominator among unemployed workers in the United States of America (Ra et al.). Therefore, the rippling effect of technological advancement is increased unemployment and consequential lack of income that leads to reduced disposable income and poverty.
The value of technological advancement on improved freedom and happiness in people is inconclusive from a research point. According to Thompson, technological advancements allow people to engage more in leisure activities, including taking up more hobbies. Most jobless people take up new hobbies, including watching more television and sleeping (Thompson). Hence, the writer concludes that technological advancements make people happier and give them more freedom. However, the real puzzle is whether jobless people can sustain their livelihoods and their new hobbies without sources of income. The meaning of life corresponds to the ability to maintain specific lifestyles and meet basic human needs (Harari). The inability to do so by unemployed people questions their perceptions about happiness and freedom. The problem is that masses of unemployed people are not happy and lack the freedom to sustain their hobbies and lifestyle due to lack of stable income.
Conclusion
Technological advancements come with a plethora of primarily negative repercussions. Issues regarding unemployment, reduced income or wages, reduced disposable income and lack of human freedom are among the factors. Critics such as Thompson provide one point of view that technology promotes a good lifestyle, increased happiness and sustainability in human life. However, this is not reality. The truth is that masses are suffering from unemployment, lack of proper skill development and reduced income due to the preference of work in soft-skill or low skill requirements such as waiters. The consequential effect is that most humans think they are happy and free, but, this is far from the ideology of happiness in life.
Work Cited
Boston University. Why Isn’t Automation Creating Unemployment? | Technology & Policy Research Initiative. 2017, http://sites.bu.edu/tpri/2017/07/06/why-isnt-automation-creating-unemployment/.
Harari, Yuval Noah. “The Meaning of Life in a World without Work.” The Guardian, 8 May 2017. www.theguardian.com, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/08/virtual-reality-religion-robots-sapiens-book.
Ra, Sungsup, et al. “The Rise of Technology and Impact on Skills.” International Journal of Training Research, vol. 17, no. sup1, Routledge, July 2019, pp. 26–40. Taylor and Francis+NEJM, doi:10.1080/14480220.2019.1629727.
Thompson, Story by Derek. “A World Without Work.” The Atlantic, 2015. The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/world-without-work/395294/.
West, Darrell M. “Will Robots and AI Take Your Job? The Economic and Political Consequences of Automation.” Brookings, 18 Apr. 2018. www.brookings.edu, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2018/04/18/will-robots-and-ai-take-your-job-the-economic-and-political-consequences-of-automation/.