“The Robots Are Coming and ‘Humans
Need Not Apply’”
By: Martin Ford
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-ford/humans-need-not-apply_b_5693808.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology
A small unheard voice finally gets the attention he wanted. Writing about the same topic for five years, people finally start understanding him. Martin Ford, an author and speaker, has been talking about the revolution in robotics that can possibly put millions of people’s jobs at risk. It is already happening now, but Ford says that this is just the beginning. Having written about it in his novel The Nights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, Ford explains that this transformation can create a future unemployment crisis. The demand for jobs would increase and there is nothing that people would be able to do. “For most of the five years that I have been writing on this subject, I've been a relatively lonely voice; the attention of both the public and economists has been focused elsewhere” (1). Now, experiments and investigations are happening. Researchers in Oxford University conducted an experiment and found out that over sixty million jobs are susceptible of being controlled by technology in the future. Over 600,000 people are homeless in America. After technology starts controlling most jobs, this number would double if not triple. An independent study in Brussels says that about fifty to sixty percent of all jobs in Europe will soon be controlled by technology and algorithms. That is not a small number. Pew Research calculated that by 2025, persons would depend on technology for most of their daily life. This is definitely going to have a terrible impact on humans and their economy.
This is extremely important for the audience to know. They should know what is going to happen in the future, to be able to prepare for the worst outcome available. The audience should understand that education is key for the future, since only the most qualified will be able to get jobs.
A small unheard voice finally gets the attention he wanted. Writing about the same topic for five years, people finally start understanding him. Martin Ford, an author and speaker, has been talking about the revolution in robotics that can possibly put millions of people’s jobs at risk. It is already happening now, but Ford says that this is just the beginning. Having written about it in his novel The Nights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, Ford explains that this transformation can create a future unemployment crisis. The demand for jobs would increase and there is nothing that people would be able to do. “For most of the five years that I have been writing on this subject, I've been a relatively lonely voice; the attention of both the public and economists has been focused elsewhere” (1). Now, experiments and investigations are happening. Researchers in Oxford University conducted an experiment and found out that over sixty million jobs are susceptible of being controlled by technology in the future. Over 600,000 people are homeless in America. After technology starts controlling most jobs, this number would double if not triple. An independent study in Brussels says that about fifty to sixty percent of all jobs in Europe will soon be controlled by technology and algorithms. That is not a small number. Pew Research calculated that by 2025, persons would depend on technology for most of their daily life. This is definitely going to have a terrible impact on humans and their economy.
This is extremely important for the audience to know. They should know what is going to happen in the future, to be able to prepare for the worst outcome available. The audience should understand that education is key for the future, since only the most qualified will be able to get jobs.
This article does an excellent job of predicting the events that are going to occur in the future. It was important that you mentioned that people need to be able to adapt to the new technology or else they will not have jobs. It is upsetting that people will lose their jobs, but maybe the advancement of technology will help bring out new ones. This article was helpful because you explained the need to be careful about losing jobs due to the fact that new machines will do their work for them.
ReplyDeleteCGP Grey's recently published video titled "Humans need not apply" is a frightening subject to think about. The idea that most manual labor will be done by robots in the future could potentially benefit many industries, and at the same time harm the working class. Technology is growing at a fast pace and mankind will soon be overpowered and lazy when this technological revolution comes to an end. Countless future jobs will be available for engineers and programmers because of robots. This topic was truly engaging and a little frightening. Excellent work!
ReplyDeleteNice article choice, Davit. Your summary of the article was very well written. This topic has been an ignored issue for too long and by the time we take action, it might be too late. I hope it would never get to the point of 1,200,000-1,800,000 homeless people in America—600,000 is already way too much. On the [somewhat] bright side, it looks like “The Jetsons” are coming to life!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article choice Davit. You summarized it very well, and the sources and numbers you used really helped emphasize how big of an impact machines taking over jobs is going to have. This is a very important article as so many people will be affected by it.
ReplyDeleteThis article does an amazing job predicting the future and what is to be of use with humans. It was greatly written and your sense of vocabulary and word usage was on point. There is a minority who think this is actually possible that is why it was an astonishing article choice. Hopefully this gets more people concerned.
ReplyDeleteDavit’s choice of article, summary, and explanation of the importance of the article were all on point as he described the increasing use of robots in the workforce and its contribution to higher unemployment rates in the near future. His explanation of the job market and effect of higher education on the work force show his insight and thought on the subject.
ReplyDeleteDavit! The Huffington Post has many different topics to choose from but your topic was great. Your writing was also great. It was informative, clear, and taught me alot. I did not know anything about Martin Ford but this article helped me understand his ideas. Nice work putting it all together.
ReplyDeleteI have never read any of your blogs, or writings but after reading this one, I am looking forward to reading more. You did a great job at summarizing and informing the readers with what the future has to come. Your blog was informative and it made me realize how big of an impact robots will have on us in the future. Great Job Davit!
ReplyDeleteI commend you on your selection of this article; the topic and your summary kept me engaged throughout the entire blog post. You have effectively highlighted the impact machines are making in our lives and the impact they have yet to leave. It is frightening to think of the role they will play in our lives in the future.
ReplyDeleteDavit the way you started your post was perfect, after I read the first sentence I knew I wanted to read more and learn about these new ideas and developments. I think this topic is an important topic that will soon affect all our lives. You managed to put that into the simplest and yet descriptive terms. I completely agree that we should all be aware of these new advancements.
ReplyDelete