Are Robots A Threat To The Human Workforce Essay Example
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Are Robots A Threat To The Human Workforce Essay Example
Imprudent spikes in robotics have surged suspensions of an upcoming clash between man and machine amid a shaky job market. Already, robotic presence has altered the very nature of work-limiting opportunities in the process (Moniz, 2016). If wages remain the keys to financial freedom, perhaps it's time to readdress the complications surrounding automation. Namely, will robots portray the futurist roles of our adversaries?
"The robot is supposedly the specter threatening the economic security not just of the working poor but also the middle class across mature societies†(2016). Virtually, all aspects of the automotive industry have been consumed by robotics with medical and manufacturing trailing close behind. "The average global robot density is about 66 industrial robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry" (IFR-International, 2015). In addition, "robotics in medical field applications will be one of the most commonly used automated systems in the future" (Moniz, 2016). So, what was once perceived as a collaboration has turned into a takeover.
Why? Proficiency. "The continued investment in robotics is based on the need to push for increased productivity in companies to face competition" (2016). Sadly, manpower proved less prolific in their efforts. Rather, "companies that use industrial robots intensively in their manufacturing operations show significantly higher labor productivity than companies that do not. It seems that intensive users of industrial robots are better at realizing efficient production processes due to shorter processing times, higher process quality and competitive economies of scale, which enable them to perform manufacturing operations with above-average labor productivity" (2016).
But at what cost? "A major problem of robotization is its potential impact on the industry labor market. Especially, those jobs that are characterized by simple and repetitive tasks" (Gorle and Clive, 2013). Translation: we're no longer hiring. A notion powerful enough to cripple our very means of survival.
So perhaps our fears in the rising robotics stand justified. Manpower has proven no match for automation, and all our livelihoods are at stake. When pressed against inevitable odds, should one remain dormant? Or, rage against the machine.
Work Cited
Clive, A., and Gorle, P. "Positive Impact of Industrial Robots on Employment: Updated in January 2013 to Take Account of More Recent Data." IFR/Metra Martech, 2013, pp 41.
"IFR-International Federation of Robotics". World Robotics, 2015, pp. 38.
Krings, B., and Moniz, A. "Robots Working with Humans or Humans Working with Robots? Searching for Social Dimensions in New Human-Robot Interaction in Industry." Societies, vol. 6, no. 3, 2016, pp. 23.
