In a couple of years, a significant part of the responsibilities will go to robots and automated systems. What will happen to the labor market? How will we perceive success in the age of automation? How will people share jobs with robots and bots? What professions will not disappear and remain in demand?
Automation of Workplaces, Drones and Robots
The problem of automation is not a new one. This is not a new phenomenon that arose yesterday or the day before. Queen Victoria, 500 years ago, worried the knitting machine would leave her people without a means to earn an income, she therefore, in every way possible attempted to prevent the granting of a patent for that invention.
Have you heard about Henry Ford and the fact that he fired workers in his factories and created an automated conveyor for the production of cars?
Due to automation, industrial production has significantly accelerated, and some processes have become simpler.
And the new engines create new jobs, but different from the old ones. The knitting machine has reduced the number of people in production, but on the other hand it has increased the need for workers in other areas. A similar situation was with farmers in the US, their numbers decreased, but the number of people who were involved in services and office workers increased.
It is more difficult to forecast how jobs will be distributed in the future between employees and robots. Who should be the most concerned? Those workers with low qualifications, who have low-paying jobs; it’s certain they will be the first to be replaced by robots.
In Japan, there are practically no cashiers. This is the first profession that can disappear in our country. There are several reasons why cashiers where replaced by machines in Japan, one of them is the shortage of low-skilled labor. This is because Japan is a country whose population is aging.
The average age of the Japanese is 50 years old. Therefore, it is difficult to find staff to fill the roles of sellers and cashiers. Still in Japan rent is very expensive. It is more economical to place an automated vending machine versus one operator by a human. Vending machines operate all around the world, but the quantities are low and their products are limited. Most vending machines sell coffee, beverages and simple snacks. In Japan, there are many types of vending machines, selling a wide range of products, and the retail operation can be 90% automated.
Drivers, sellers, cashiers, fast-food workers and those who work behind the counter are at risk. These processes will be the first to be automated, proven by the fact that electronic queues and unmanned vehicles are the norm today.
