Recent reports by The Associated Press suggest the combination of software automation and robotics will boost unemployment to anywhere between 50 and 75 percent. It's a frightening picture of the future, but will it play out?
The primary advantage robots have over their human counterparts is the ability to do repetitive tasks without the need for a break — a selection of tasks that make up a surprising amount of the modern workforce.
One of the reasons why workers haven't yet been replaced by robots is because there's a great deal of finesse that goes into crafting a good deal of materials which robotics simply cannot do — yet. But the ability to make minute maneuvers is may not remain the domain of humans for much longer: Foxconn, the world's leading computer parts manufacturer, announced that it's planning to replace a large portion of its workforce with robots over the next three years.
"What has always been true is that technology has destroyed jobs but also always created jobs, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University said to the Associated Press. “You know the old story we tell about (how) the car destroyed blacksmiths and created the auto industry."
But it isn't all bad news. According to a study by Metra Martech Limited, advanced robotics and automation may lead to more jobs. The study took a look at six countries, ranging from Japan and Germany to the United States and South Korea, and found that — with the exception of Japan — both paid employment and the use of robotics increased. There could be a few reasons for this, including the need for a strong support staff, but the argument that the robotification and automation of economies automatically leads to mass unemployment may be overstated. After all, as Finance Daily notes, the increase use of robots may drive companies to expand and free-up resources elsewhere.
Regardless of how one feels about how robotics will impact the economy in the future, one thing is true: robotics and automation isn't going away.
