‘Robots are taking our jobs’! ‘Human life will become redundant’! Fears of automation replacing jobs are only accelerating. But although we tend to think of automation as a modern phenomenon, if you look back through history, you will quickly realize that automation of tasks has helped humans, rather than made us redundant, and has been a focus for civilization for more than 2000 years.
For example, wheels for processing grain and stone were recorded in 350 BCE in Egypt and Syria. The 19th century Industrial Revolution saw automated technology being more widely adopted, with punch-card-controlled looms, a task previously done by hand. At the time, such changes were the subject of fear and protest as skilled craftsmen fought for their trades. Their mindset was no different from many now.
Automation is already around us in our daily lives. From traffic lights changing on your way to work to smart control heating operated while you are out to street lights that light your road on your return home. These tasks require human interaction at some level. Automating the most mundane tasks helps free up your time. This is the same thought process that should be applied to automation in the future.
However, manufacturing jobs are potentially the most vulnerable in the immediate future. China is in charge of automating jobs: By 2030, the country will have 14 million industrial robots in use. Meanwhile, the rest of the world will have just 6 million robots in use. Unsurprisingly, these changes result in anxiety about the future and people are seeking answers.
Although automation isn’t the future of all manufacturing jobs, research from cloud manufacturing specialists Fractory has found that people still fear the future. The question ‘Is automation going to take my job?’ is one of the most Google searches related to the future of tech, according to Fractory’s research.
Fractory’s researchers analyzed thousands of Google searches and search trends to identify the most burning questions consumers have about tech’s role in the near future. The findings suggest that consumers are feeling existential dread and childlike wonder about the capabilities of things like manufacturing technology, automation, and artificial intelligence, with jobs, safety, and even the welfare of robots among their top concerns.
Mechanical Engineer and Head of Marketing at Fractory, Andreas Velling, believes the research points to a shrinking of the knowledge gap between industry and consumers, saying some of the most outlandish questions, such as ‘Can you 3D print food?’ will turn out to be entirely reasonable shortly.
The impact of technology on jobs was among the top concerns. Top searches relating to AI, robots, automation, and engineering are all related to job security. Safety was another big concern. ‘Can lasers cut through flesh?’ was one of the most commonly asked questions about laser cutting. The ethics of technology also appear to have attracted widespread attention, with queries related to sentience and emotion in artificial intelligence engines and robots among the most commonly asked questions, as well as questions about whether technology itself can discriminate against humans.
Andreas Velling, who conducted the research, believes the gap between consumer expectation and industry reality is closing. “One of the reasons I believe people are Googling subjects like “cloud manufacturing”, or “online manufacturing” is that these things have come closer to the people. Manufacturing itself used to be something that belonged to the industry. Now it belongs to everyone, we can all have access to capabilities that make all kinds of projects possible.
The advancements in the manufacturing field are soon going to be positive, for example, printing your prosthetics, or negative, like losing your job at age 55 without time for proper re-training. And people realize it while not knowing exactly what’s going to happen. Hence the large amount of searches on unheard-of topics just a while ago.”
Top consumer questions about the future of tech:
3D printing
- Can you 3D print food?
- Does 3D printing smell?
- Is 3D printing expensive?
Internet of Things
- Does the Internet of things discriminate?
- Will the Internet of things work?
Artificial intelligence
- Can AI predict the future?
- Will AI take over?
- Is AI a Scrabble word?
Automation
- Is automation going to take my job?
- Can automation create more jobs?
- Will automation replace accountants?
Robots
- Can robots love?
- Will robots take my job?
- Are robots taking over the world?
Engineering and manufacturing
- Will manufacturing come back to the UK?
- Can lasers cut through human flesh?
- Can engineering be automated?
- What is cloud manufacturing?
Velling says: “It’s understandable that people are curious about the near future of manufacturing tech. The rate at which tech evolves and brings new possibilities is astonishing, especially in the manufacturing jobs space. In 2018, we used our software platform to fabricate a car prototype from sheet metal. This is just one of the many things that would have seemed like science fiction just a short while ago. Consumers are now very curious about where manufacturing jobs tech can go, whereas a few years back, it was a conversation between industry and academia.”
“So some of the outlandish questions will seem very reasonable shortly. For example, the capabilities of cloud manufacturing jobs are constantly growing. Although many of those advancements are incremental and not headline news, each one opens a new range of possibilities that can be layered on top of the last – this is the theory of converging exponentials, where multiple innovations combine to disrupt entire sectors completely. This is where the really exciting innovations will occur.”
Humans will still need to be involved in the future workforce. And while some tasks may be replaced, human workers will be central to this new workforce. With new skills that focus on communication rather than repetitive tasks or operations. With technological advances, new and different jobs will also be created.
