Will Robots Replace Human Employment? Essay

The robotics revolution has started! Since robotics have been manufactured, the efficiency and productivity in working conditions are growing rapidly. They formed a huge leap in our lives as they became part of many workplaces. Moreover, they can implement a wide variety of tasks successfully in a record time compared to human performance. Also, they are playing a pivotal role in helping laborers in their work to be faster and more effective. “When automation or computerization makes some steps in a work process more reliable, cheaper or faster, this increases the value of the remaining human links in the production chain” (Autor, 2015). However, some employees believe that robotics will have an unfavorable impact on the workplace, all because they thought that their jobs are in danger. For instance, now accountants, laborers of construction, farmers, housekeepers, and chauffeurs are worrying about losing their jobs due to robotics “Up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world could be replaced by robots by 2030” (Oxford Economics, 2019). So, this will decrease laborer wages and increase the rate of unemployment in the future. From another perspective, robotics may be the main source for real disasters that are waiting to face the world in the future. This essay will discuss the impact of robotics on the workforce and how employees need to cooperate with them in fields such as accounting, workers of construction and farming.

There are so many high-risk fields that still depend on manual laborers as construction workers, who consistently facing hard and perilous working conditions. As a result, the numbers of wounds and death are constantly incrementing. “317 million nonfatal professional injuries and 321,000 occupational fatalities occur all around the world each year, so, that 151 workers sustain a work-related accident every 15 seconds” (Abdalla, Spenser Apramian, Linda and Mark, 2013). However, replacing them with robots will increase safety and permit errands to be finished precisely. For example, in China, they started to use the robot-welder, which is manufactured to pick up a big pile of boards and take them into an elevator to increase safety, instead of hiring workers, because if a laborer is injured while working particularly on this job, it could be a serious issue. Robots also will be cost-efficient in the long run as they can work for long periods with the same efficiency without taking rest. On the contrary, laborers need time to take a break, and they get bored due to the same task that they do every day, so it became a routine for them, and this affects the quality of their work.

Save your time!
We can take care of your essay

• Proper editing and formatting
• Free revision, title page, and bibliography
• Flexible prices and money-back guarantee

Place an order

Recently, several researches have shown that robots are superior in accounting functions rather than humans, and this affects accountants who are concerned about where they are going to fit if this occurs in the future. “Software programs attempting to replicate human experts, behavior, and expertise, store human knowledge and experience and transform it into rules thus trying to solve accounting problems and perform some accounting tasks” (Stancheva, 2006). Robots not only can be used in banking fields as they will arrange meetings, collect and count money but also, they will be quite useful in business fields to produce a higher quality of output for companies. As well as, they help to utilize the data and understand information faster and accurately so the human error will be reduced and data can be easily checked later on. Moreover, an individual's positions will turn out to be less stressful, so employee's tasks can be more centered around significant works that need greater liability. However, replacing accountants who are working as risk-takers with robots cannot be ideal because this type of position needs creativity and from its qualification to be able to take specific decisions when there is an issue, and robots will struggle to achieve this. From another perspective, accountants and businesses have to find the best way in which workers can interact with robots effectively. “Businesses should review their organization’s activities to assess where potential value from automation is highest and create a strategic plan that includes both capital investment and reskilling workers” (McKinsey Global Institute, 2017).

Agrarian robots which related to agriculture became one of the key patterns that will profoundly impact farming and may replace farmers too. “There is a three-in-four chance that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace farmers” (Oxford University, 2019), because they can perform many tasks, especially through planting, fertilizing corn, weed control, and scouting operations. They also can take care of farmland, reap plants, and expanding crop yields. From another perspective, they can help to assist ranchers in dealing with the issue of a waning labor force and permit them to work more proficiently. Needless to say, some countries started to prepare for the TerraSentia robot, that can be wandered autonomously through fields and analyze plants with advanced sensors to identify which is strongest and healthiest and announce back to human officials while inspecting crops. Besides, a French designer created the Wall-Ye robot, that assists with pruning and collecting grapes at vineyards, utilizing infrared sensors and scissor-hands.

On the other hand, robots have their darker side that has to be taken into consideration. For instance, preparing for the design, and intelligent software system requires many types of researches, which is quite expensive and needs an extended time to complete. Also, they are complicated in their maintenance. Moreover, you cannot assemble human knowledge in a machine because it is an endowment of nature. “Humans will always need for effective and embodied interactions with other humans, which can never be replaced by robots” (Lin, 2016). As a result, they cannot interact with unexpected situations. No matter how insightful a machine may become, it can never replace a human. Also, workers can improve and develop their working through age and experiences. However, this cannot be said about robots as they are machines that cannot have creativity or imagination. From another perspective, robots require manual labor to control them because if they become out of control, they may cause colossal disasters.

To sum it all up, it is better to manufacture robots to assist workers in achieving their tasks successfully rather than replacing them. Furthermore, as indicated by most specialists, the sort of assignments that can most effectively be robotized is those that have a serious level of redundancy in either physical tasks or data processing. Besides, with each employment taken over by the machines, there will be an equivalent number of chances for responsibilities to be finished by individuals. “Rather than robots replacing medical or accounting professionals, the latter need to work hand in hand with robots, to continue raising the value of work within their profession” (Lee, Loke, 2007). Moreover, people will wind up in harmonious connections with robots after they comprehend how to interact with them in an ideal manner, because robots perform real tasks that require human intelligence. For having a productive future, numerous specialists recommended that people and robots need to work with each other as robots need to do tasks that can be mechanized while people need to take care of the responsibilities that require an individual or imaginative touch. Furthermore, the government needs to create real solutions to survive those workers who may lose their jobs by providing educational courses and aptitudes retraining for existing and future specialists.

References

1. Abdalla, S., Spenser S., Linda F., and Mark R. (2013). Injury Prevention and Environmental Health. (3rd ed.). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525209
2. Autor, D., (2015). Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives Volume 29, Number 3. https://ifr.org/downloads/papers/IFR_The_Impact_of_Robots_on_Employment_Positioning_Paper_updated_version_2018.pdf
3. Boston Consulting Group. (2015). The Robotics Revolution. https://ifr.org/downloads/papers/IFR_The_Impact_of_Robots_on_Employment_Positioning_Paper.pdf
4. Fook, L., Loke, H. (2017). WILL ROBOTS REPLACE ACCOUNTANTS? Journal.isca.org.sg. https://journal.isca.org.sg/2017/07/25/will-robots-replace-accountants/pugpig_index.html
5. Lin, P. (2016). Relationships With Robots: Good Or Bad For Humans? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/patricklin/2016/02/01/relationships-with-robots-good-or-bad-for-humans/?sh=5fb0843c7adc
6. Matthews, K. (2019). 5 Ways Robotics Will Disrupt The Construction Industry In 2019. Robotics Business Review. https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/news/5-ways-robotics-will-disrupt-construction-industry-in-2019
7. Oxford Economics (2019). Robots 'to replace up to 20 million factory jobs' by 2030. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48760799
8. Schilperoort, L. (2020). 10 Common Jobs To Be Replaced By Robots Within 5 Years – Job Tradition. Jobtradition.com. https://www.jobtradition.com/10-common-jobs-to-be-replaced-by-robots-within-5-years
9. Stancheva, E. (2018). HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS CHALLENGING ACCOUNTING PROFESSION. https://ifr.org/downloads/papers/IFR_The_Impact_of_Robot_on_Employment_Positioning_Paper_updated_version_2018.pdf