As the demand for higher wages go up, the more computerized and robot workers we see in stores. Now you can order a meal online and have it ready for you when you get there which begins to take away from cashiers. We will continue to develop new technologies that take away jobs that lack specialty traits. It is important that people don’t try to use fast food or grocery baggers as full time jobs because new technology is coming to eliminate those things. We also are seeing robots take over more skilled jobs and pushing out skilled employees.
The idea of Robot workers may scare people on first thought, but what can be done by those robots will redefine the workforce. We see robots taking over airports with self service check-in kiosks. As well as the pilot of a plane only steers the plane for about three to seven minutes (McKinsey). What I believe we can see soon is that when you go through the security check line instead of handing your Passport or Drivers license and Boarding pass to a human TSA worker, you will insert it into a machine that checks it out for you. This is something that will take down on the amount of time it takes to go through security as well as take away the chance that a worker lets in someone who shouldn’t pass the security check. An Airport in South Korea has started using robot workers to guide them to the gate if they do not know where it is. It roams the airport waiting for travelers to interact (Skift). This robot has taken up a job that carries good use. Often times people are rushing to make connecting flights in a large airport and cant find someone who gives reliable help to let them know where to go, much less walk with them to the gate. With this you don’t have to worry about the robot having a bad day or mistreating a customer. Amazon has opened its first market which is run mainly by robots and only has three humans working ( NY Post) . People enjoy less social interaction and getting done what they need to get done and Amazon and the self service airport robots are catering to that.
McDonalds is a company who is known for employing many minimum wage workers, as seen in the news many are calling for a rise in the minimum wage because it is not enough to live on. McDonalds has responded to the “raise the minimum wage” campaign by adding Robotic Kiosks at stores around the country (Forbes). These kiosks will take orders and payment so it removes the need for a cashier. In San Francisco an automated grocery delivery business is growing and the founder of the company believes it has a lot to do with the rising minimum wage (Forbes). As we move forward and we do end up seeing wages rise, I believe you will see more robotic grocery baggers and fast food clerks. This will benefit society by making things move quicker and helps with the fact that more and more people are on the go nowadays.
So what we can see is that there are many positives to having robots in the workforce but it isn’t all perfect and there are some negatives. In an Article from MIT Technology Review there is a claim that “technological change has been destroying hobs faster that it is creating them…” So if we are getting more and more technology and it is destroying jobs, how can we believe that technology is good for jobs. In a chart from Technology Review you can see that as productivity is increasing after around 2000 Employment is actually gradually decreasing. So for the big money CEOs and other major faces in a company they are getting more production from less worker which means more money for them. But the majority of people are not major faces in a company so the majority are losing their jobs or not getting hired because of robots doing these jobs at such a high level. It is also stated that as the United States GDP is increasing over the years, household income is not increasing with it and is actually decreasing since 2000. If this is what will come as we allow robots to do more jobs then we need to cut back on what all we let robots do. In order to have a successful economy we need as many people in the workforce as possible.
A big question mark in my mind on robots working jobs is how will the respond to an out of the ordinary situation. We know that robots can do exactly what they are trained to do but what about what they aren’t trained to do (Recruit Loop). Human Workers already struggle with catering to those with disabilities and also freeze when an unexpected situation arises, so how can we be confident in the fact that a robotic worker will be able to provide service to differing varieties. Training employees to interact with the robots will take time and money (Robots.com). Yes you can cut down on employees and that should save you money but the employees that you do hold on to will have to learn how to control the robot worker and that cuts in to time and time is money as we know. It is also tough to understand what need the robot is for. Improved results are not a sure thing and it could set you back a good bit of money if the robot does not end up being productive (Robots.com).
Robots are on pace to take over many jobs humans currently do and have already taken their fair share, so it has left people asking the question. What do I need to study to be sure I will have a job. Well you may not want to get your CDL (Commercial Drivers license) because that is seen as a job that is on its way to becoming fully automated due to the fact that is majority travel on highways driving straight for long distances ( L.A. Times). Also if you are planning to go to medical school to be a surgeon, you better get used to controlling robots who are actually performing the surgical procedures because they have been approved by the FDA and are making their ways in to operating rooms (Forbes). So if that’s what robots are taking over then what jobs are the safest from automation? Well most of them are jobs that work towards building robots and other technology such as drones, virtual reality and the manufacturing of robots (Forbes) but, also degrees and jobs in Therapy and Education (MSN) seem to have low risk of robots taking those jobs. So to stay safe from losing your job to robots, consider carefully the career you are leaning towards.
It seems to be certain that robots and Artificial Intelligence will soon take up many spots in the workforce. In many ways it is being associated with the fact that over time robots are cheaper than hiring human workers and the more we have seen a push for higher wages, the more we have seen the rise of robot workers and some robotic delivery companies, but the wage isn’t the only reason people, especially in the United States, are doing more and also are less social, people want to be able to leave their earbuds in and get what they need done with little human interaction. Robots will be seen more in service jobs that require less education but as they become more common they will increase knowledge and learnability and be able to dive in to jobs that require more learning and education and so it is best for the kids now about to head off to college to consider that when deciding what they want to study, because I believe that soon it will be the best of the best are the only ones with jobs in their field and that robots will handle the rest. Sure there will be a place for people who are afraid to move in to the future and will still provide a market for certain human jobs in fields mainly taken by robots but for the most part we need to embrace the change and learn to work with robots.
Works Cited
Badden, Jessica. “The Pros and Cons of Having Robots in the Workplace.” Do Better Hiring – The RecruitLoop Blog, 18 May 2017, recruitloop.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-having-robots-in-the-workplace/.
Flows, Capital, and Ed Rensi. “Thanks To 'Fight For $15' Minimum Wage, McDonald's Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Dec. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/29/thanks-to-fight-for-15-minimum-wage-mcdonalds-unveils-job-replacing-self-service-kiosks-nationwide/#252e53c94fbc.
Lee, Youkyung. “Robots at South Korean Airports to Help Passengers Find Their Gates.” Skift, 4 July 2017, skift.com/2017/07/04/robots-at-south-korean-airports-to-help-passengers-find-their-gates/.
Rotman, David. “How Technology Is Destroying Jobs.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 1 Sept. 2016,
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Matthews, David. “What Should You Study to Stop Robots Stealing Your Job?” Times Higher Education (THE), 6 Mar. 2017, www.timeshighereducation.com/news/what-should-you- study-to-stop-robots-stealing-your-job.
Kitroeff, Natalie. “Robots Could Replace 1.7 Million American Truckers in the next Decade.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-automated-trucks-labor-20160924/.
Lobo, Rita. The 19 Jobs Least Likely to Be Replaced by Robots, www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/the-19-jobs-least-likely-to-be-replaced-by-robots/ss-BBASSdL#image=15.
RobotWorx. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Automating with Industrial Robots.” Industrial Robots, RobotWorx, 11 Feb. 2008, www.robots.com/blog/viewing/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-automating-with-industrial-robots.