If political and business leaders make the right decisions now, the current period of transformation has the potential to make work more meaningful for everyone.
From the prototype robotic arm of the British online supermarket Ocado, which grabs items from the most difficult-to-reach shelves to devices like FoldiMate that help with housework, automation technologies are becoming increasingly common in our lives. everyday.
Despite the significant possibilities that these advances present, I know that automation is an issue on which there is a difference of opinion. Miocado.net sign in should be used by the Ocado Employees.
In this article I would like to reflect on the impact of automation in the world of work.
A new approach to work
It’s impossible to ignore the dramatic headlines about the number of jobs to be replaced by automation. Estimates of how it will affect the global job market suggest that between nine and fifty percent of today’s jobs will cease to exist. However, these estimates vary wildly and not only show little consensus, but they also don’t describe the whole picture.
It is true that almost all jobs today have some aspect that can be automated by today’s technology, but very few jobs will disappear completely. A McKinsey study suggests that about 60 percent of all occupations have roughly 30 percent activities that can be automated.
Furthermore, this automation will be introduced in waves. In an analysis of more than 200,000 existing jobs in 29 countries, PWC suggests that the first “algorithmic” wave of automation will affect only 3 percent of jobs and that the second and third, more complete waves, that will account for approximately 30 percent automation, will only take place in the mid-2030s.
Towards a collaborative future
In reality, the biggest change in the age of automation will be the new working models based on human-machine collaboration.
As robots take on some routine tasks, human workers will be able to take on other newly created roles in the fields of data analysis or robotic engineering , as well as jobs that require human qualities like creativity, initiative, leadership and teamwork.
In healthcare, for example, companies like Innoplexus are using artificial intelligence to extract information from data to help diagnose and treat disease. By making decisions faster and with greater precision, these technologies allow nurses and physicians to spend more time caring for the patient.
Allowing robots to collaborate with humans significantly amplifies the value they provide, and this collaboration has become a key focus in the field of robotics.
Time to catch up
All of these developments underscore that human skills will continue to play a critical role in modern jobs. However, for this potential to be realized, business and political leaders must take action today to ensure that workers have the right skills to respond to future challenges.
Specifically, there should be a greater focus on skills upgrading and retraining programs. This debate was to the fore at this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, which resulted in the launch of a new IT Industry Skills Initiative.
Created around a free online tools platform called SkillSET, the goal of this initiative is to provide resources and training opportunities to one million people by 2021.
From general digital literacy presentations to more advanced topics like big data and cybersecurity, this joint effort has resulted in the creation of a centralized portal of training tools for those whose roles may be impacted by technology.
New resources like this are an important first step in helping workers around the world discover the opportunities of this new era, but there is much more work to be done.
From robotic projects to lifelong learning initiatives, it is necessary to strengthen ties between governments and industry to accelerate the pace of progress.
Let’s not forget, the future of work is in our hands. Artificial intelligence is the latest addition to a long list of outstanding human-designed and produced developments. By making the right business and political decisions now, we can ensure that the benefits of this new wave of innovation reach everyone.