It’s not human versus robot
There should be meaningful collaboration between intelligent machines and professionals with both bringing their superior skills to the partnership
Technology is
ushering in a new age of automation. Every day, across industries, smarter
machines are deployed to manage the growing scale of work.
Computer technology has eliminated some tasks
and lowered the demand for some workers. A recent study by McKinsey &
Company estimates that almost half of all current tasks are subject to
automation, providing fodder for the argument that widespread
technology-induced unemployment is impending. However, computers can play an
oversized role only in five percent of occupations, eliminating all tasks
currently performed by humans.
In the remaining 95 percent of the
occupations, there will still be plenty of tasks for humans to perform, says
the study. Automation in these occupations will have created new tasks for
humans. It can be easily assumed healthcare, manufacturing, retail, banking and
auditing will be among sectors that are first to adopt automation in its
infancy. Certain forms of automation will be skill-based, aimed at raising the
productivity of high-skill workers, and at the same time, reducing the demand
for low-skill and middle-skill workers. It however has to be borne in mind that
automation creates efficiencies that lower production costs, thereby stimulating
demand and creating more jobs. Examples include ATM machines leading to
increased bank teller employment, and cost savings created by robots actually
leading to greater human employment in warehouses. In the overall economy,
automation has led to a greater need for non-routine, high-skill work that pays
high wages and also for low-skill work that pays lower wages. Against this
backdrop, we should seek to make computers and humans co-partners.
On the computer side, this means creating
programmes that augment human skills. As described by IBM data scientists,
humans and machines will “need to collaborate to produce better results, each
bringing their own superior skills to the partnership.”
On the human side, people have to be trained
for tasks computers cannot perform. This means prioritising science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. But that’s not the only
solution. Upskilling and reskilling employees is critical for businesses.
Challenge to reskilling will be stiff as new jobs will keep replacing old ones
at a rapid pace. And, upskilling will be made challenging by the fact that much
of what students learn in a technical course at college will become outdated
when they reach the employment stage.
With job requirements in state of flux, the
future will witness a greater demand for multi-skilled employees who have the
necessary foundation to be able to pick up new skills fast.
But, there will still be some workers who
will not be able to gain the skills necessary to address new challenges. The
ultimate challenge lies in ensuring that the number of such employees is really
low.
(Ritesh Gandotra is Director, Global Document
Outsourcing at Xerox India.)
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
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