How Technology Is Replacing Humans and Taking Over Our Jobs?

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The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the third.

Recently Economic Times reported that, the fourth revolution would be characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.

According to the World Economic Forum, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is going to be a distinct one because of its velocity, scope, and systems impact. “The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace.

Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.” WEF report mentions. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made spectacular progress in recent years, driven by exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural interests.

Engineers, designers, and architects are combining computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between microorganisms, our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we live in. 


Jobs which are already at a risk-

1. Telemarketing - 

Telemarketing is so 90's things, that today no one takes this calls seriously; it becomes a waste of resources and nothing else. Today, most of them are robocalls; it's not too common to get a live person on the line trying to sell you something.

2. Bank Teller - 

ATMs have drastically cut down on the number of bank tellers. Now if you walk into a bank, how many employees you see behind the counter, most counters have a minimum of 5 or maximum to 7, twenty years ago, even a small branch had more people than that.

3. Inventory and Warehouse Working -

The best example of robotic automation is Amazon’s network of warehouses. Amazon still employs over 200,000 workers, but in many of their warehouses, the actual grunt work is done by robots of different types. Even though they have not yet completely replaced all of Amazon’s human warehouse employees, these robots help sort, stack, and pack orders for shipment. Amazon has plans to further automate the process and make their warehouses even more productive.

The concerns raised by the world economic forum cannot be neglected, as with the rise of technology, it is clear that labour will be replaced by machines. But the development surge will be huge too, with the advent of digital platforms; it has created new positions and new designations for the employees. As data today has surpassed oil, we need more labour to ensure that it is being used in a good way.


Let's look at some new designations which will be created once the technology at a job is raised -

1. Data Drivers 

Solutions based on Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things will become commonplace. This, in turn, will result in an army of people to manage the data they generate. Designing systems that can analyse and parse this data, while meeting ever-evolving privacy norms across borders will be another requirement that will emerge across industry verticals.

2. Cyber-security Experts -

 In the future, the world will be even more connected than it is today. Personal devices, machines, appliances, automobiles, everything will be connected to the internet, and emerge as a potential target for cybercriminals. This will need far more people than today to anticipate potential threats and create solutions for them. Things like the electricity grid, the water supply system and the traffic lights will all be connected and any disruption could potentially create chaos in cities.

Especially a country like India will require thousands of security experts who design systems that can constantly monitor threats, but also prevent attacks. Already, we see cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated in terms of the attack methodologies.

 3. 
Traffic Monitoring Jobs -

Drones for delivery and driverless cars will spur mini-industries of their own. Control rooms of the future will require traffic management skills like operating drones, managing autonomous cars, besides regular vehicles. Beyond command centre operators, designers, programmers and cybersecurity experts will be needed to ensure smooth functioning.

This virtual world has given us more opportunities, more options to look upon, more accessibility. If we look around, we have so many influencers around us today and not from the field of business, sports or politics, but in every sector of the industry.

The E-Learning platforms have boomed like never before in this lockdown period. Teachers and professionals with great industry experience are today spreading their knowledge on platforms like Byju’s, Unacademy, Upgrade and many more.

Should we call this technology replacing jobs or giving a source to earn daily bread? Yes, the debate of online v/s offline channels will continue for many decades, but inside we can’t deny the fact that how comfortable is relying on technology. 

From Alexa to Siri, from the book my shows to Big Basket, we all prefer technologies than human labour. Not to forget again the delivery individuals have become a financial supporter to their family. 

To conclude, yes this revolution will take jobs away, but if you have the skill, you do not need to worry. As the old saying stands tall, “Survival of the Fittest.” 


Written by - Soham Upadhye

Edited by – Bushra Makhdoomi