Will There Be Work For Us? PDF

Here’s the combined text from the two images: WILL THERE BE WORK FOR US? Nobody knows what kind of jobs we will do in the future. Still, one thing we know for sure: all around the world, automation and digitalization are changing working life. In other words, many jobs will be done by robots. Techn...

Here’s the combined text from the two images: WILL THERE BE WORK FOR US? Nobody knows what kind of jobs we will do in the future. Still, one thing we know for sure: all around the world, automation and digitalization are changing working life. In other words, many jobs will be done by robots. Technology has always had an influence on people’s jobs, but the change now is faster than ever. Unlike people, robots don’t demand an increase in salary or overtime pay. Moreover, they don’t need sick leave, paid holidays or lunch breaks. In fact, they don’t need to go home at all since they can work around the clock. When these workers get old and retire, they don’t need pensions. You simply replace them with newer, more efficient models. You have to admit that from a manager’s point of view, employing robots rather than humans makes a lot of sense. Good for business. But is it good for the workers? ROBOTS AS PARTNERS How can we make sure that we still have jobs in the future? How on earth can we prepare ourselves for a world that doesn’t exist yet? Jack Ma, the richest man in China and founder of China’s largest internet company and online shopping website, points out that no matter how efficient we are, we cannot compete with machines. Humans and machines have different skills, so instead of competing, we should work together as partners. “Machines can do the boring, dangerous, dirty jobs, while we should focus on what we're good at,” he says. Uniquely human qualities, like patience, a sense of humour and common sense, for example, help us to make flexible decisions. That is something machines are not very good at. These qualities will ensure our position in the workplace of the future. Of course, we don’t know if AI will change that.