Discussion on the ill-effects of rapid technological advancements – Probable causes and solutions
The current age is witnessing rapid technological development, and human beings are unable to cope with such advancements. The modern society is getting subjected to emerging technologies that mainly includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, and industrial robots. It can be argued that advancements in these technologies are improving the quality and services; however, these technologies have the potential to create long-term damage. For instance, AI can replace human workers as they are programmed to do regular tasks. Issues related to employment will arise. Moreover, it can be tied to retirement savings as human beings will be unable to save money for a secure future. In other words, automation has the potential to risk the jobs of human beings. Every day, we are witnessing rapid advancements such as algorithms, machine communication, augmented reality, and robots (Smith & Carayon, 1995). The positive impact of these sophisticated technologies cannot be completely denied. However, it also implies that modern society would require a lesser number of workers as automated technologies are programmed to deliver job duties better. People will be deprived of the social benefits they were deprived of jobs such as pensions and healthcare facilities. By 2025, robotics is expected to increase from $15 billion sectors to $67 billion sectors. Consequently, it would have a substantial negative impact on the workforce.
The real causes behind the problem
The problem with automation exists because the technology failed to create a sufficient amount of new work (Norman, 1990). This, in turn, led to stagnancy in the economy. The productivity of the developed economies has been hampered as well. Automation gave rise to inequality in the society. Further, the developed economies consist of an ageing population. The industries that previously relied on middle-aged workers have now started to pick up automation so that efficiency of the business can be enhanced. It has killed jobs and has not yet contributed towards the creation of new jobs. Private institutions and government bodies that will consider the benefits of automation and forget the negative implications are more likely to create a stagnant economy.
Steps that can be taken to resolve the issue
The negative impact of automation, which is one of the emerging technologies, can be mitigated by taking three practical steps-
- Making investments to capture modern technologies- The future economy can be secured by making aggressive investments. It is vital for government institutions to promote R&D. Digital initiatives can be taken after halving the number of resources and increasing the 50% productivity of manufacturers.
- Focusing on training and education- The education system can be re-imagined, and focus can be shifted towards creating a future education system that will be flexible, effective, and cheap. In order to deal with automation, it would be vital to get rid of obsolete systems of education.
- Increasing the social safety nets- Modernization of social safety nets can be fruitful for the economy. For instance, implementing the universal basic income scheme can be a solution (West, 2016).