Political Economy: Machines Taking Away Our Jobs

Machines Taking Away Our Jobs
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Technological advancement and innovations have made work easier and more efficient. However, the continued developments in technology in the manufacture of machines could pose a looming threat to the employment of a significant percentage of the population. Although the increased investments in technology also provide jobs, the machines developed have at the same time caused unemployment. The developing nations have to take into cognizance the overall impact of technology on the development and improvement of their economies. With the current innovations, development and use of technology in almost all sectors of the economy creates a need to analyze the long-term effects of the technology, so as not to cause massive loss of jobs.
Various sectors such as service industries, manufacturing industries, transport and communication, agriculture and food production industries and the military have had an important and massive investment in technology. The efficiency of the machines or the installed technology in the various sectors of the economy has resulted in the loss of employment opportunities. The work or duties that could have been done by several individuals are currently being done by a small number of machines or just a computerized program that could be controlled by a single individual. Due to these concerns and the continued investments in technology (digitalization) and the increasing population, sustainability measures have to be incorporated so as to reduce unemployment associated with adoption of technology. The advancement in technology should help in the creation of alternative employment opportunities for the population.
According to US statistics, projections as a result of continued investment in robot technology is likely to result in the loss of approximately 6% of jobs in America by 2021. The service sector would be largely hit by the continued investment in robot technology. Replacing humans in service provision pose a threat to the social dynamics among the population, although entrepreneurs view this as cost effective. Banking, hotel, entertainment and recreational services have experienced massive technological investment. The Moley Robotic Company has invented a fully automated intelligent robotic chef. The robot chef can learn so many recipes for the diversified cultural foods and techniques. The robot has integrated abilities to perform duties that could have been performed by a number of employees. The robot can perform all the tasks that it has been programmed to perform, and produce uniformity in quantity and standard of service delivery.
Despite being costly to purchase the robots, the cost of maintenance and operations is low as compared to the humans who face financial, social, health and political challenges. In the long run, the robots are considered economical in operation and easy to manage as they require little supervision. However, the replacement of humans with the robots would create superficial relationships among the employees, employers and the customers. The lack of creativity, uniqueness in service delivery and the cooking process would only limit the robots to perform specific t...