A U T O M AT I O N

JA R E D ST R O N G

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Aut om at ion t hr ough t he pow er of
m achiner y has been happening
dr am at ically since t he I ndust r ial
Revolut ion. Thr oughout pr im ar y
school I w as t aught about t he people
of t he I ndust r ial Revolut ion and how
new m achines t ook m any low er -sk illed
labor jobs and t he people w er e
r equir ed t o m ove t o ot her ar eas of
w or k . Som e of t hese jobs included
m any w eaver s and clot h w or k er s at
t he beginning, event ually leading t o
new w ays t o r efine ir on and st eel. I
lear ned how people flock ed fr om t he
far m s t o t he cit ies t o w or k for hour ly
w ages and t o m aint ain and oper at e
t he new m achiner y. Recent ly w hile
sear ching t hr ough t he int er net , I
found m any ar t icles t alk ing about t he
new self-dr iving car t echnology. For
exam ple, self-dr iving vehicles ar e
being r esear ched by com panies lik e
Google and Tesla and m ay soon be
sold t o consum er s. Am ongst t his t alk
t her e w as a lot of fr ight about w hat
w ill happen t o t he indust r ies lik e t axi
dr iver s and t r uck dr iver s. This new
aut om at ion, t he aut om at ion of dr iving,
w ill lead t o m any people losing t heir
jobs, just lik e m any of t he m achines
led t o people
losing t heir jobs
in t he I ndust r ial
Revolut ion. This
"Will
m ade m e ask t he
Fu r t h er
quest ion: w ill
fur t her
A u t o m at i o n
aut om at ion hur t
H urt the
t he econom y?

Ec o n o m y?"

W h at W i l l H ap p en t o Cu r r en t Jo b s?
I t ook t o t he int er net t o help m e answ er m y
quest ion. Fir st , I look ed for w her e aut om at ion is
cur r ent ly com ing for w ar d. One ar ea w as in t he
shipping indust r y, especially on t he por t s. Wit h
t he global econom y const ant ly gr ow ing and
shipping being even m or e im por t ant , t her e is
oft en congest ion in t he por t s fr om t he lar ge
loads and not as efficient w ays of dealing w it h
t hese loads. Accor ding t o joc.com , a w ebsit e
dedicat ed t o cont ainer shipping, in a 2016
ar t icle: t he aut om at ion of por t s w ill speed t he
pr ocesses of shipping, w hich w ill get pr oduct s
t o t heir needed places fast er , k eeping t hings on
schedule. This w ill help t he econom y by
allow ing ships and t heir car go t o avoid t he
congest ion t hat oft en occur s at por t s. This
aut om at ion also appear s t o not r em ove m any
jobs, t her e w ill st ill be advisor s r equir ed at t he
sit es t o w at ch t he m achines and oper at or s for
t he new m achiner y. I t w ill also addr ess m any
cur r ent safet y concer ns cur r ent ly found on
por t s because hum ans w ill no longer be in t he
w ay of t hings being m oved. So alt hough t her e is
a loss of a few jobs, I t appear s t o m e t hat t his
w ill help t he econom y over all by m ak ing t hings
fast er and m or e efficient . I n an econom ist
ar t icle t it led ?Aut om at ion and Anxiet y? it t alk s
about how t hese new for m s of aut om at ion ar e
sim ilar t o t he I ndust r ial Revolut ion. The ar t icle
goes t hr ough t he jobs t hat w ill be lost but t hen
pr esent s t he jobs t hat m ay be cr eat ed, giving
t he hope t hat w e need t o have as w e look
t ow ar ds t he fut ur e. Aut om at ion w ill change t he
econom y, but it w ill m ak e t hings easier and w ill
also cr eat e jobs t hat w e could have never
im agined. So t o m e t his m eans t hat aut om at ion
is doing w hat it is supposed t o and w hat it ?s
alw ays done. But t his led m e t o w onder if t her e
w ill be t oo m any jobs dest r oyed and not enough
jobs w ill be cr eat ed.

I S TH I S D I F F EREN T?
n t he ?Aut om at ion and Anxiet y,? ar t icle
t he aut hor says, ?A com put er t hat
dispenses exper t r adiology advice is
just one exam ple of how jobs cur r ent ly done
by highly t r ained w hit e-collar w or k er s can be
aut om at ed, t hank s t o t he advance of deep
lear ning and ot her for m s of ar t ificial
int elligence.? (The Econom ist , 2016, p. 3).
This show s t hat t his t im e m ay act ually be
differ ent fr om t he t im es of t he indust r ial
r evolut ion. These new m achines, lik e m y
exam ple w it h t he new self-dr iving car s, ar e
becom ing sm ar t er. I n t he ar t icle, ?A.I . Dow ns
Exper t H um an Fight er Pilot in Dogfight
Sim ulat ion,? it t alk s about how t he new
m achine t hink ing t echnology is able t o beat a
t r ained dogfight pilot . (M cDonald) This
fur t her explains t o m e t he new danger s of
t his new w ave of aut om at ion. This m ay lead
t o even hum an pilot s being r eplaced,
changing t he defense indust r y. Alt hough
hum ans w ill st ill be needed t o lead t he AI -led
planes, t her e is a significant less am ount of
people t hat w ill need t o be em ployed. This
m ay hur t t he econom y by causing m or e
unem ploym ent in even m or e r egions. This
w ave of aut om at ion appear s t o be differ ent
because of t he huge num ber of jobs t hat ar e
being able t o be r eplaced. I began t alk ing t o
m y fr iend about m y quest ion and he led m e
t o t he video ?H um ans N eed N ot Apply.?
(CGPGr ey, 2016). This video show ed m e t he

im por t ance of t he danger s t hat cur r ent

aut om at ion, especially aut om at ion t hat can
be done in t he next few year s, has on t he
econom y. I t depict ed t hat t his r evolut ion of
t echnology is differ ent fr om t he r est . The
ot her advancem ent s have never pr oduced
som et hing t hat can t hink for it self. All past
t echnologies r equir ed hum an over sight or
oper at ion, but t he new t echnologies can r un
t hem selves. As t he AI get s sm ar t er and
lear ns even m or e t her e w ill m ost lik ely be
r obot s t hat can r epair ot her r obot s. This
com plet ely dest r oys t he need for any hum an
int er act ion in m ost pr ocesses.

I n Co n c l u si o n

W h at W i l l A Wo r l d
W i t h o u t Wo r k L o o k L i k e?
Wit h t his I st ar t ed t o ask , ?What a w or ld
w it hout w or k w ould look lik e?? M uch of
t oday?s societ y, capit alism especially, r evolves
ar ound people doing w or k t o m ak e m oney. I
st ar t ed a sear ch for som e ideas and cam e
acr oss an ar t icle on t he at lant ic t it led ?Would
a Wor k-Fr ee Wor ld be so bad?? (St r auss,
2016). I n t his ar t icle, I lana St r auss show s t w o
differ ent w ays t hat t he w or ld, follow ing t he
r ise of AI , could be r un. I see in it eit her a
w ast eland of t he poor people dying off, eit her
fr om depr ession or fr om lack of m oney, w hile
t he r ich hold all of t he w ealt h, or one w her e
t he gover nm ent s give people a living w age.
This ar t icle discusses how societ y, and t he
econom y, w ill need t o change t o focus less on
w or k and m or e on fun and play. Wit hout
needing t o do m uch w or k , t her e w ill not be
m any jobs available t hr oughout t he w or ld,
and people oft en feel t he need t o w or k in
or der t o be sat isfied w it h t heir lives. I f w e, as
a societ y, w er e t o change t o not put as m uch
em phasis on w or k , but m or e em phasis on
doing t hings w e enjoyed, people could st ill
find m eaning in a w or ld w it hout jobs.
H ow ever , I can not see t his being a possible
fut ur e, at least unt il societ y changes. So w hat
w ill happen once t he w ealt h get s polar ized? I
w ent t o discuss t his w it h m y fr iend, w ho has
w or k ed on m any r obot ics pr oject s and done
r esear ch on t his subject . We decided t hat in
t his possible fut ur e, one w her e t he r ich hold
all t he m oney and t he poor have not hing, t hat
event ually t he poor w ill all die out , leaving
t he r ich in t he w or ld. This is alm ost a t ype of
nat ur al select ion, w her e t he people m or e
adapt ed t o sur vival, t he r ich, w ill sur vive
w hile t he r est die off

Thr oughout m y jour ney on t his subject , I

have been t ak en fr om t he idea t hat t his AI
r evolut ion is m uch lik e t he I ndust r ial
Revolut ion t o r ealizing t hat it is a com plet ely
differ ent subject . The I ndust r ial Revolut ion
saw t he r ise of m achines t hat cr eat ed m or e
jobs, as oper at or s and r epair m en, but t he
new r ise of AI m ay lead t o m any jobs being
dest r oyed and, alt hough som e jobs ar e bound
t o be cr eat ed, t her e w ill m ost lik ely not be a
w ay for t he econom y t o r et ur n t o how it has
alw ays been. A w or ld w it hout w or k , a w or ld
w her e m oney is polar ized, and a w or ld w her e
t echnology does anyt hing, w ill be a ver y
differ ent w or ld t han t he one t hat w e have
k now n t hr oughout t he past hundr eds of
year s.

W ORK S CI TED
"APM Ter m in als Ups An t e on Au t om at ion ." APM Ter m in als Ups An t e on
Au t om at ion . N.p., n .d. Web. 04 Ju ly 2016.
"Au t om at ion an d An xiet y." Th e Econ om ist . Th e Econ om ist New spaper , 25 Ju n e
2016. Web. 30 Ju n e 2016.
CGPGr ey. " Hu m an s Need Not Apply." You Tu be. You Tu be, 13 Au g. 2014. Web. 30
Ju n e 2016.
Kot t asova, Ivan a. " Sm ar t Robot s Cou ld Soon St eal You r Job." CNNM on ey. Cable
New s Net w or k , 15 Jan . 2016. Web. 04 Ju ly 2016.
M cDon ald, Coby. "A.I. Dow n s Exper t Hu m an Figh t er Pilot In Dogf igh t Sim u lat ion ."
Popu lar Scien ce. Popsci, 27 Ju n e 2016. Web. 06 Ju ly 2016.
St r au ss, Ilan a E. " Wou ld a Wor k -Fr ee Wor ld Be So Bad?" Th e At lan t ic. At lan t ic
M edia Com pan y, 28 Ju n e 2016. Web. 04 Ju ly 2016.

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