By Boshika Gupta
Technology has been good to us. It has allowed people to connect with others thousands of kilometres away and given us gems like navigation apps and fitness trackers. Technology has essentially changed life as we know it – and made new exciting possibilities a reality.
However, reports often indicate that robots and automation will make our jobs obsolete. Sure, our lives will be more efficient and our standard of living may go up. But many people will lose their livelihoods. Won’t they? Will technology help us and make things easier or will it spell destruction? Both the sides have plenty of supporters and statistics, which makes it confusing to know the answers for sure. Nobody knows.
It is true that statistics indicate 47% of all jobs are at risk of being handed over to robots in the U.S. in the next two decades. However, there will still be ways to earn our keep, right? Consider this: things have considerably changed since the last few years in terms of technology but we’re all still here, juggling hectic work lives and lots of personal commitments.
If you’re wondering, it’s widely believed that professionals involved in routine jobs such as accountants, cashiers, rental clerks and telemarketers will be the first to go. Others such as healthcare professionals, writers, artists, and entrepreneurs are safer. If your job requires you to be creative or form important relationships with others (such as a nurse), you may be in a better position compared to someone in the legal or fast food industry.
But that’s not necessarily true. There have been reports of artificially intelligent painters producing new styles of art. Who could have seen that coming? According to Marian Mazzone, an art historian at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, the goal was to create art that is “novel, but not too novel.”
Essentially, everyone knows that no one can predict the future accurately. The key aspect we can learn from our past and ancestors is that the world will continue to challenge us and leave us in awe, showing everyone that absolutely nothing is impossible and innovation should never be underestimated. For example, did you know that technology has managed to find a religious connection as well? An app called Confession allows you to track sin and offers “a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament”.
It’s important to note that human beings are a resilient lot. We’ve survived plenty of major changes and evolved over thousands of years. We’re still here.
What’s more, we’ve created this world. Everything is man-made, including technology. That counts for a lot. We’d be in a position to eliminate artificial intelligence if it gets destructive. We may come up with an endless variety of jobs that’ll replace our current jobs, allow us to earn our daily bread and make things okay anyway. Everyone agrees that while many jobs have been wiped out in the past, technology has given us many more jobs.
A good strategy for an uncertain future is to diversify your portfolio and equip yourself with a rich skill-set. You’ll be able to bring many things to the table and keep yourself safe in a fast-changing landscape.