Humans or robots: technological innovation as a risk of job loss

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Technological innovations cannot replace humans in all productive tasks. For now, the ‘humans versus robots’ struggle continues to be relegated to the level of fiction

The production of goods and services involves the use of instruments called factors of production to convert raw materials into goods and services that can be offered in the markets for consumption.

Of these productive factors, we can highlight the most relevant:

Machinery and equipment used in production (capital).

The job.

In the period prior to the Industrial Revolution, the tasks performed to produce goods and services were labour-intensive. For example, tasks related to harvesting or agricultural production. With the passage of time, and especially with the emergence of new technologies, certain tasks and jobs replaced the use of labor with capital, that is, with machines.

labor for capital

The replacement process began during the Industrial Revolution with the invention of the steam engine and other devices, such as using lathes to perform tasks previously performed by skilled craftsmen.

Although the process of replacing labor with machines for production began in the 18th century, it is currently constant and has undergone a special intensification over the past thirty years.

The increase in the intensity of the emergence of new technologies, although it has made it possible to increase the productivity of economies, i.e. to produce more goods and services in less time or with better quality, has also led to a greater replacement of workers for machines. .

A simple task, such as making coffee, is currently performed by robots in some cafes in South Korea. As a result, the belief has arisen that technology, or robots, take away jobs from people, increase unemployment and cause a struggle of people against robots.

Yet technological innovations cannot replace humans in all productive tasks, relegating the battle between humans and robots to fiction rather than reality.

This is because there are different types of tasks in the production of goods and services, and not all of them can be automated:

– Routine Manuals: Repetitive tasks that require the use of physical strength and are also associated with dexterity and the manipulation of small objects.

-Non-routine manual tasks: Like routine manual tasks, they require the use of physical strength, but they are not tasks that are constantly repeated.

-Routine cognitive: Repetitive tasks that require the use of thoughts, such as telesales jobs.

-Non-routine cognitive: These types of tasks require abstract thinking, the ability to critically solve problems, and communication skills. In addition, these tasks are not repetitive.

Based on this classification of tasks, it can be said that the tasks that are automated, or at greatest risk of doing so, are routine tasks, both cognitive and manual, as they are repetitive tasks that can be performed by a machine or robot without major inconvenience.

Non-routine tasks are less likely to be performed by a robot. Non-routine manual tasks are characterized by being affected by aspects that machines or robots cannot replicate; such as cultural aspects. On the other hand, non-routine cognitive tasks are the least automated tasks of all as critical thinking and communication skills cannot be replicated in whole or in part by a machine.

The solution for humans to win the battle against robots lies in assigning workers to tasks with a low risk of automation. For this now two things must be given:

1. To perform these types of tasks, technical preparation, study and learning of the tasks to be performed are necessary to perform these tasks (learning by doing). Therefore, education (formal and informal) should play a leading role so that people can take on tasks with a low risk of automation.

2. Jobs should be created for the production of goods and services that do not require non-routine tasks. Based on the latter, knowledge-based services, which make intensive use of advanced technology and require skilled workers to take advantage of technological innovations, are emerging as a solution to this problem.

Since the industrial revolution, the replacement of human labor by machines or robots began. However, we still have time to win the battle, focusing on training and instruction, as well as creating jobs in services that complement technological innovations.

This article was published in ‘The conversation’

Source: La Verdad

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