Wooten 1

Jacob Wooten

Professor Bell

English 1201

10/30/2019

Automation and Our Inevitable Doom

The word automation has mainly been associated with doomsday like theories. This of

course is because of rumors and the way typical media have reported on it. Automation defined

by Merriam Webster is as followed, “automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process,

or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labor” (Merriam

Webster). Let’s break this down, something takes the place of what a worker typically must do.

Notice how they used labor instead of the word job. Labor defined by again, Merriam Webster,

is as follows, “the services performed by workers for wages as distinguished from those rendered

by entrepreneurs for profits” (Merriam Webster), while the word job is typically defined as,” a

regular remunerative position” (Merriam Webster). Using these definitions, you can see that

basic automation takes over the workers’ normal tasks, rather than the workers’ position itself.

This is very important for when articles are talking about automation. What people are really

worried about is when automation becomes so advanced that it can do every single task the

worker can do. This is when automation can take over a person’s whole job.

People lose their jobs every day, whether from automation or not, it happens. It is hard

not to feel sorry for them. When this happens, they are usually more unstable mentally and

financially. At the same time, people are given the job of their lives. It seems like these people’s

lives turn around, and everything in the world is just peachy. From all the articles read and
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interviews, almost everyone against automation has the idea that the reason why they lost their

job is due to automation. At the same time, most people they quoted that is for automation is

professionals who have an optimistic viewpoint. I often wonder if the people who had their

dream job would be outraged just as much if they lost their job, just like the people who have

been affected by automation. It seems most automation is now in assembly lines, typically

automotive. These people, their families, they support these companies their whole lives. I think

it’s safe to say, many workers from automotive factories purchase these vehicles for themselves

because they support the brand. When one of these automotive workers lose their jobs, its more

than a 9-5, it’s more than a paycheck. When this happens, they must change their lives and

question who or what to support. I would like to question whether automation is taking people’s

jobs more than is produced, and to briefly explore the effects of automation on people’s lives.

So, when stories and workers get referenced and interviewed, I beg you to understand and put

yourself in their shoes before casting judgment.

The reason why job automation needs to be explored is because there are many

misconceptions around the whole process. As technology evolves, along with-it humanity,

automation will continue to intertwine into our job atmospheres. For now, this journey is

inevitable, and no one has really come up with a better solution than to use robots to evolve our

job lives and for humans adapt to it. You may be asking yourself, so do you have a better idea?

The answer is no. Automation through robotic use has already come into mainstream

manufacturing, from automobiles, to moon samples, and even to the food industry. It is

something that must be addressed, and we cannot afford to dart our eyes away from it. It is yet

another delicate topic that walks the line between religion and what’s best for the economy. In

order to grasp and answer this question, extensive research was executed and followed.
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In an article from the Guardian, writer Richard Partington quotes WEF saying, “about

133m jobs globally could be created with the help of rapid technological advances in the

workplace over the next decade, compared with 75m that could be displaced” (Partington). So,

case closed, right? How can we expect society to fill in this gap? Wouldn’t these jobs require

more training and dedication for the whole economy? To put it simply, yes. “Some companies

are already beginning to shed jobs in favour of automation, including the online retailer Shop

Direct, which earlier this year warned 2,000 jobs were at risk as it moves to a new distribution

centre” (Partington). It appears companies will continue to push for automation though. Humans

have rights and laws around working long hours and being treated fairly, robots as of now don’t

have many. Ultimately companies like keeping profits high with costs low. Using robots,

companies don’t pay wages, they don’t have to give them a lunch. On the surface, the only thing

they must do if make sure they are working correctly and have spare parts. The deeper you go

though, the more you may be surprised. Robots at the end of the day are machines. Machines

need their oil changed, parts swapped out, programmed, and much more. For now, humans must

do these tasks, in the not so soon future though, robots may be able to repair themselves just as

well as humans. Look at this team required to work on MIT’s Atlas. This may seem a lot, but just

know their team has also gained and loss more people than when this photo was taken. Be aware

this isn’t the only people that worked on the robot as well.
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Fig. 1. Team MIT and their robot “Atlas”.

Let’s just talk about the here and now, if you break it down more humans are involved in

the automation process than the job itself. Typically, a normal factory job requires someone to

hire the worker, a person to train the worker, and the worker him/herself. Automation on a very

basic outlook requires someone to hire a company to design the robot, someone to build it,

someone to program it, someone to regular check on it, someone to repair it, and many more

tasks. These people take on essential parts of the process that would be unattainable for a robot to

do now at this time.

Even with all that knowledge availably publicly, and multiple sources saying this all the

time, numbers are number. According to report by Oxford Economic that appeared in an article

by Alexa Lardieri, “THE RISE OF ROBOTS AND automation is projected to lead to the

displacement of 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030” (Lardieri). 20 million people is a lot to

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take in, I myself cannot comprehend 20 million of anything. Just think about not only ours, but

the whole worlds’ economy during the peak of this transition. So, when talk of if more jobs are

going to be created than destroyed, it most certainly better be right. Another key item discussed

in this article is the price of robots. The cheaper robots get, the quicker workers will lose their

current jobs. With robots getting cheaper and cheaper, the more accessible they are. This allows

more companies and eventually individuals to purchase these, making them even cheaper. I like

to call this the robotic slide, once on the slide towards robots being cheaper, the only way off is

riding it down.

With all these robots being prepared and designed, an important detail is how will it

affect us humans. From the film “Will Robots Steal Our Jobs?” from Klaus Martens, this shows

specific examples of robots and the actions they can already perform. One in particle caught my

eye, there was one plating a dish of food. Not only did it perform the task excellently but did so

with ease. How would you feel going to culinary school to work yourself all the way up? At the

top however you are met by a robot who can do your job perfectly. Did I mention that it can do it

with no breaks, and can perform it with precision every single time? Would this not cause

negative effects on your mental health? How will we combat this sudden and rapid change in

morale?

In order to answer this question, I looked at the effects of what losing your job has on it.

This excerpt from Phycology Today shows us some of the effect from it. “Research studies have

shown that job loss can take a psychological and biological toll as well, leading to depression,

anxiety disorders, increased somatic symptoms, such as fatigue or headaches, and higher rates of

medical illness” (Greenberg). One little action can cause a rapid chain of events to form. It’s

amazing the responsibility we have put on maintaining our jobs. “Many psychological variables
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are adversely affected by unemployment, including perceived control, belief in one's own

competence or self-efficacy, self-esteem, identity, life satisfaction, and sense of meaning and

purpose in life” (Greenberg). These effects stated above can lead to depression very rapidly.

There is little talk of a way that the government can help during this time. It is no wonder why

people get upset when their job is taken away.

Before you even say, I would never be the person to lose my job, consider these new

findings in the following article by Tom Simonite, “Robots Will Take Jobs From Men, the

Young, and Minorities”. “Hispanic workers are in jobs that are already 47 percent automatable;

for Native American and black workers, those shares are 45 and 44 percent, respectively”

(Simonite). Not a good chance to get a starting job if you’re a young minority. And as the title of

the article says, think again if you’re male, “Brookings estimates that 43 percent of an average

male worker’s job could be automated by 2040, compared with just 40 percent for the average

woman’s job” (Simonite). The article goes on and states this is mainly because there are

statistically more men in the construction field than women.

All these facts and statements come from professionals and companies that have been

studying and researching this topic for a long time. However, one of the most important keys in

all of this is how most people feel about this. A video from Magnus Sjöström, interviews a few

people and ask their honest opinions on this topic. A local man says, “Automation is going to

happen, jobs are going to be replaced by machines. And when that happens, you’re basically

increasing the wealth of society. We’re able to make more stuff, with fewer person hours. The

question is who benefits from that?” (Sjöström). I believe this gives a rough image of what

everybody is thinking. Many people have their doubts and would rather not explore automation

until we figure it out. As we know with most things, exploring a new topic is mostly how we
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learn. Basically, people are either worried about how people are going to find jobs, or how it is

executed. These two are contributing negative factors in the feasibility of automation being

accepted.

So, with all these sources and facts the question remains, is automation taking more jobs

than they will be produced? In the eyes of some people, yes, statistically predicted not even

close. But how can it be both? Automation is creating more jobs the more it grows. However,

typical blue- and white-collar jobs are forever going to be destroyed. Blue collar jobs are

typically physically demanding jobs, some types of truck driving for example. White collar jobs

are typically those which involve sitting at a desk, accounting is an example. The specific tasks

and everything involved in the actual creation of the product sold will not require human hands.

So, in this sense, yes that job will be taken over by automation. Some people do not want the job

of taking care of the robot, which is fine. This has not been the first-time people do not want to

adapt to the changing market. I know this may seem harsh, but it is the truth, ultimately these

people will be replaced by people who will be more than willing. But what about the people who

wouldn’t mind taking on a new set of tasks?

We need to look to the past eras of our nation’s history in order to help predict the future.

Every single major technological advance has no doubt led to the destruction and, more

importantly, creation of jobs. As mentioned in “Robots in workplace 'could create double the

jobs they destroy' ,” “The WEF report suggests new technologies have the capacity to both

disrupt and create new ways of working, similar to previous periods of economic history such as

the Industrial Revolution.” (Partington). The comparison above is one of the keys in helping us

as a society. People went from farming to making railroads, like people are going to go from

making cars to building programs. Advances in technology forces our hand into things we would
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never dream of doing. In order to prepare for the new revolution, I believe the best thing you can

do is study. Study on the past, study on current automation, study on how fast technology is

currently advancing. When companies start pulling workers, they need people as fast as possible

to fill the new roles manifested with the change, and definitely even more. Perhaps take a few

courses on programming. The more knowledge and experience you have, the more likely you are

to be hired of course.

A man by the name of David Autor gave a TED Talk a little while ago. He is an

economist, and he talked about the O-ring theory. To say it short, without an O-ring many

objects of today would cease to exist. These new positions getting created are going to act as the

O-ring in the sense that everybody is needed. Without the engineering of the robot, there will be

no robot for the programmer to program, and on down the ladder falls. With each position, the

worker in that position will therefore be much more valuable. Without one person, automation

will not be capable to exist. Therefore, they need the current workers still, and even more in

order to pull off this feat. Automation will only be as good as the people who created it. The

better it is, the more tasks these robots can do, and because of this, the more people they will

need. Essentially creating another robotic slide.

Automation will not simply stop for one or two groups who oppose it. Many famous

people have expressed their concern for this new era, including entrepreneur Elon Musk. The

only way we can fully exploit this coming era for everything it has to offer is to discuss it more

and more. But also, one of the last things that need to be said about automation is from a certain

viewpoint, automation is the best thing that has happened to our society. The same viewpoint can

be turned easy to see it as the worst thing possible. When peers and family members discuss this

issue, it would be recommended to take everything with a grain of salt. Nobody can predict the
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future, and many political articles decided to take ahold of this issue. Research of this topic must

be done as carefully as preparing the economy for this.

People are going to be scared for this new wave of change. Currently I’m scared for the

longevity of this new era before something like the quantum computer mixes everything up

again. Fellow pers and older members of society must realize, there is not a one solution fix all to

this issue. This process is probably going to be drawled out and take a heavy toll on everybody.

Politics will, and already have begun to take sides on this issue. People must realize just because

their party supports an angle, doesn’t mean that it’s the right solution. This is yet another reason

why people are confused and afraid. However, people fearing this shows that they care. We must

keep up our morale during this period. People questioning whether automation is going to take

over is why we will evolve. We will evolve like humans have before, and our lives of today

compared to those of the future will be considered a lower standard of living. Isn’t this why we

consider allowing automation in the first place? So, we can exercise our brain’s rather than our

physical bodies? If nothing else, wouldn’t you rather live in a world where the people of

tomorrow is better off than you were today? Take these questions into consideration the next

time you are asked about automation, we can do this.

In short, automation eventually will be creating much more jobs than it seems to destroy.

However, the jobs that were once considered typical for an American will eventually be taken

away. We must keep our mental health in mind during this whole event. Mental health is one of

the contributing factors in how successful this process will be played out. And lastly, preparing

now is better than preparing when the time comes. Your ability to adapt will decide when you

yourself can start this new journey. Doing a little work and studying can help avoid a huge
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amount in the future. My final remark is, look ahead, don’t be afraid when change happens, and

always try your best to adapt.

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Works Cited
“Automation.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/automation.
Autor, David. “Will automation take away all our jobs? | David Autor.” TED, Feb. 30, 2017,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=th3nnEpITz0.
“Job.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/job.
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/labor.
“Our Team”. Massachusetts Institute of Technology University, June 2013,
http://drc.mit.edu/team/. Accessed 4 November 2019.
Partington, Richard. “Robots in Workplace 'Could Create Double the Jobs They Destroy'.” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Sept. 2018,
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/17/robots-in-workplace-could-create-
double-the-jobs-they-destroy.
“Preserving Mental Health During Unemployment.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201110/preserving-
mental-health-during-unemployment.
“Robots Will Replace 20 Million Jobs by 2030, Oxford Report Finds.” U.S. News & World
Report, U.S. News & World Report,
https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2019-06-26/report-robots-will-replace-
20-million-manufacturing-jobs-by-2030.
Simonite, Tom. “43 Percent of an Average Man's Job Could Be Automated by 2030.” Wired,
Conde Nast, 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.wired.com/story/robots-will-take-jobs-from-men-young-
minorities/.
The automated future. Directed by Magnus Sjöström, performance by Stina Dabrowski, UR
Skola, 2015. UR Skola, urskola.se/Produkter/196346-Den-automatiserade-framtiden#.
Will robots steal our jobs? - The future of work (1/2) | DW Documentary. Reported by Klaus
Martens, performed by Meredith Jones & Frank Lee. DW Documentary 2017. YouTube,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IOH7b68byk.