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students learn in a technical course at college will become outdated when they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.
THE HINDU-29th November,2017
