How Artificial Intelligence Is Causing Unemployment in the World - Research Paper Example

Insert Insert Grade Insert Insert Artificial Intelligence Introduction Artificial intelligence refers to automation of tasks by use of programmed robots or computer programs. This robots or programs operate with less or no human labor. Hence it can be said that artificial intelligence is taking away jobs from people resulting in technological unemployment. As the world embraces technology, more and more tasks are being taken from people and given to machines. This unemployment results in concentration of wealth in the wealthy few leaving the majority jobless. The research question in this paper is if artificial intelligence is a good thing especially in the labor market. I will provide the reasons, explanations, and examples of how artificial intelligence is causing unemployment in the world. Claim Artificial intelligence has necessitated performing of various tasks efficiently and more promptly by use of machines. A design that could have taken an engineer several days of calculation can just be brought out within seconds after entry of appropriate data. Artificial intelligence has also been widely used in government and business decision making (Fiskel 277). Despite the many advantages, the main undoing of this technology is elimination of regular citizens’ jobs. Unemployment in the society is undesirable because it can cause friction between those who are employed and those who are not employed (Boden 651). This technology can only be successful if structural changes can be effected in the society including change in the method of distribution of income. These structural adjustments are not possible in the society especially the issue of income distribution has been elusive in many countries. Reasons and Evidence Artificial intelligence in addition to rendering citizens jobless might also cause underemployment. When effecting these new technologies the skills of workers might be upgraded, degraded or polarized (de Witte and Steijn 246). Most of these new technologies lead to upgrading of skills. The upgrading of skills leads to deskilling of employees rendering their initial skills inadequate making them to have a feeling that they are underemployed. Artificial intelligence also leads to jobs that are standardized or following a specific process denying employees a chance to learn while on job. This leads the workers not to develop new skills or work experiences because they are denied a chance to think, innovate, or discover. The employees feel that they are slaves of machines because they cannot harness their skills. Artificial intelligence also rears its ugly head when it comes to manual labor and entry jobs. These are jobs that have been held by those entering the job market, those with weak skills, recent immigrants, or those with spotty work records. Automation of entry and manual labor jobs such as washing dishes and making change leaves majority of those in the above groups with nowhere to start from. This offers jobs to computer industry businessmen and experienced computer programmers. One example of effect of artificial intelligence is the telephone operation sector. If calls were still attended to manually instead of using a programmed machine, then this business could have employed several operators to attend to the many calls (Karten 17). Fast food business does not also require knowledge or experience to work in but this business is also on the verge of automation where there are machines which customers can just key in their orders and they are served. This technology might be beneficial to both the customers and the business owners but the only problem is that they deny many people job opportunities. Limiting entry level jobs means rendering many youths, who are eager to work and develop their careers, jobless which can lead to increment in crime rate (Que 2). Artificial intelligence has also resulted in erosion of less skilled jobs. It has put the job qualifications at very high level making people to spend many years in school and when they come out they have few job opportunities. This may be due to their skills not matching the technologically advanced job market or because the jobs in the field the scholar has studied are being done by machines. Due to this paradigm even a doctorate in a highly technical field does not guarantee a scholar a job. These brilliant minds when left unengaged might cause unrest in the society. The mechanical, biological, and chemical revolutions in American agriculture have put millions of farm laborers out of job. Initially, the farms were cultivated using human labor; this required many employs to cultivate firms. These were then replaced by tractors that made use of very few drivers. Today, manufacturers are advertising driverless tractors. As it can be seen we are moving from thousands of employees to no employee at all. Another example has to do with cattle. A dairy cow would require someone to take care of it in the grazing field, give it water, milk it, and lock it into its shade. All this jobs could not be done by one person so the owner could make use of two or more workers. With automation, the farmer can attach a chip on the cow which measures the milk quality. The cows stay in the field until they are ready to be milked, they move on their own to gates which open automatically and the milking process is automated (Kile 108). Agriculture had occupied most people in the society; with such automation where will the society head to? Wealth will be concentrated in the few elites and this might lead to a revolution in the society. Automation has led corporations to eliminate millions of workers annually (Ferris 2A). This is because machines are now used in decision making and offering services. In 1995, Sir Brian Pitman (the CEO of Lloyds Bank by then) predicted that one out of five jobs will be lost in the following years. This meant several jobs were to be lost in the banking industry. This was as a result of invention of microchip technology, a movement towards tele-banking (Maureen 18). Traditionally, banks had to open branches all over the country in order to reach their customers. This opening of many branches created employment for many people in the society. However, introduction of internet banking transferred the many jobs from people to machines. This led to loss of many jobs. There are also computer programs that carry out financial risk analysis, financial profit projections, financial budgeting, and many others. These are all opportunities that have been denied to human beings by machines. Corporations normally used employment to create good public relations with the inhabitants of a particular region. As most corporations go towards automation this relations may not be achieved. In its place, it might be replaced by frictions between the corporations and the society. Artificial intelligence has also had an effect on the competition environment between businesses. Businesses with the resources have automated their processes leading to efficient production processes. This has lowered their cost of production and improved their productivity. Given this, they can now sell their products at a cheaper price. This may lead smaller firms to be pushed out of business. As firms automate their operations they lay off some of the workers. When they push their competitors out of business they also further render other workers jobless. This is the work of artificial intelligence; denying the masses income and concentrating it to a few elites in the society. Companies are now relying on the new generation of robotic workers. These workers do not strike, call for salary increments, or form trade unions. However, this is costing many people jobs because machines are now replacing the human beings in the labor force. There are also a number of people who have earned income through their fame. Take for example chess players; they struggled to become the world’s best chess player. This fame earned them recognition and respect around the world. With artificial intelligence this fame has been transferred from a human being to a computer. Today, the world’s best chess player is a computer (Vardi 5). Emotional Appeals Parents normally struggle to find money to take their children to school. They do so believing that one day these children will get a job to sustain them. The children may excel well in school and go to higher education institutions where they pursue their career. The career might be so demanding but the students persevere to the very end. When they get out into the job market they find that their job specialty is not relevant because machines are doing the jobs. This is really unfair. Let us take another scenario; you have been highly qualified in your field of study. You get out of college with the zeal to apply the knowledge you have learned. You do get employed, but in this employment you are guided by the standardized computer commands. This is normally very dehumanizing. The adoption of artificial intelligence in companies has also rendered many people jobless. Many of this people are normally low income earners with no savings. They only get wages sufficient to sustain them and their families. When such reforms occur, these people go back to the drawing table in search of another job. They may not have the necessary skills to easily land them on a job. During this period, their families will be suffering with no food to eat or their children may drop out of school due to lack of fees. If we look at who benefits from artificial intelligence, it leaves much to be desired. When these processes are effected it leads to reduction of labor in corporations or businesses. The production activity can now be done with little labour; hence, enhanced profits. As the masses are suffering due to unemployment, a few are enjoying the fruits of a process that rendered them jobless. Opposing View Points There are those of the view that companies that offer artificial intelligence services such as Google have created more jobs in the United States of America. I cannot refute this fact, but how many people have artificial intelligence rendered jobless? It has put many people out of work and employed a few to operate the machines. Enhancement of artificial intelligence also leads to need for professionals to manufacture, operate, and fix the machines. In fact, the proponents of artificial intelligence say that there will be more jobs in the long run than they were there before. This assurance I think is a toll order because as artificial intelligence develops further more and more jobs are being taken from humans and given to machines. The jobs are also being taken from millions of less skilled and given to just a few computer professionals who operate the machines. The professionals may also be underemployed because all their activities are guided by computer instructions. Conclusion Artificial intelligence plays a vital role in the world today. It has made operations of organizations and governments easier and efficient. However, it has a major negative impact; taking jobs from humans and giving it to machines. This greatest undoing is rendering several people unemployed year in and year out. Unless proper mechanisms are put in place to address this there could be greater income gaps in the society, which could lead to conflicts between the haves and have not. Works Cited Boden, Margaret. Artificial Intelligence: Cannibal or Missionary. AI & Society Journal, 21, (1), (2007), pp. 651-657 De Witte, Marco and Steijn, Bram. Automation, Job content, and Underemployment. Work Employment Society, 14, (1), (2000), pp. 245-267 Ferris, Nancy. Managers Give Technology a Thumbs-Up. Government Executive, 30, (3), (1998), pp. 2A Fiskel, Joseph. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Risk Analysis Profession. Risk Analysis Journal, 7, (3), (1987), pp. 277-281 Karten, Howard. Automating entry level jobs: Where’s the Work? Computer World Journal, 20, (46), (1986), pp 17 Kile, Fredrick. Artificial Intelligence and the Society: a furtive transformation. AI & Society Journal, 28, (1), (2012), pp. 107-115 Maureen, Freely. The bankers who like to cry wolf Job losses, due to automation, do not necessarily mean inferior service. The Guardian Newspaper, May 1995, pp 18 Que, Montreal. Downsizing leads to more than just employment losses: (Final Edition). The Gazette, March 1995, pp. 2 Vardi, Moshe. Artificial Intelligence: Past and Future. Communications of the ACM, 55, (1), (2012) pp.5 Read More