Your Job Will Still Be Around in the Next Five Years. but This Is How the Robots Will Change Them

Anisa Menur Maulani Anisa Menur Maulani
May 10, 2021 Future of Work

If there is one good thing to come up from the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be the opportunity to re-examine how we are doing things –and how we can do better.

Previously, as part of our Earth Day celebration, we published a special feature that looked into how the pandemic has affected the environment, particularly in the matter of waste management. We concluded that there are many opportunities for startups to innovate; they can achieve great results by collaborating with various parties, including the government.

This time, as we celebrate Labour Day, we would like to examine the issues that have come out related to the workplace –our work environment and the elements that are included in it.

There are major themes that have come into the discussion in the past year, starting from the different ways we can do to manage our employees and even set up our businesses (remote working is here to stay, y’all).

But nothing induces anxiety as much as a discussion about job availability –and rightfully so. In Singapore, by September 2020, the jobless rate climbed up to 3.6 per cent from 3.4 per cent in just one month. This number is related to the retrenchment that was performed across different industries.

In addition to the fear of losing the job to the pandemic itself, there is also another layer of anxiety that engulf the discussion about the future of work. This is something that has been around for a long time, but it is about time we finally address the elephant in the room: The fear that robots will take over our jobs.

Addressing the fear

When it comes to the discussion regarding the possibility of robots taking over human jobs, the first question that we need to ask is: Is there even any base to this fear?

Or have we been watching too many Hollywood films with plots that include robots going berserk and shooting civilians?

Byron Auguste, CEO of the Opportunity@Work, elaborates in WIRED how our fears of a potential “robot uprising” are not only wrong, but it is also preventing us from improving work conditions for our workers.

“Our fears about automation come down to three factors: machines will execute tasks more efficiently; machine learning will enable artificial intelligence (AI) to make complex decisions more effectively; and technology companies will sell software and algorithms to replace slow and distractible people with fast and focused machines,” he writes.

“Such fears aren’t without basis, but the biggest technology opportunities have always augmented the work of humans, rather than replaced it altogether.”

He even goes as far as stating that the institutional biases for automation over augmentation –that is, the prospect of losing your jobs to robots instead of having it improved by them– are not caused by the tech innovation itself. Instead, it is the result of a more complex system that does not work in favour of augmentation, or having robots as tools to improve the way we do our work.

“Our tax codes, accounting standards, executive-compensation systems, dysfunctional training systems, exclusionary hiring practices and divided societies do create institutional biases for automation over augmentation,” he states.

Auguste is not the only one to put emphasis on the improvement of work condition as facilitated by technology. In their The Future of Work After COVID-19 report, McKinsey Global Institute states that jobs with the highest physical proximity are likely to be most disrupted.

“Many companies deployed automation and AI in warehouses, grocery stores, call centres, and manufacturing plants to reduce workplace density and cope with surges in demand. The common feature of these automation use cases is their correlation with high scores on physical proximity, and our research finds the work arenas with high levels of human interaction are likely to see the greatest acceleration in adoption of automation and AI.”

This is long overdue.

During the pandemic, frontline workers –from your food delivery guy to the nurses who are interacting with COVID-19 patients on a daily basis– have shown how crucial the role that they play in our society. More importantly, the pandemic also reveals to us how risky these jobs can be.

As innovators in the tech sector, the worst thing that we can do is dismissing the risks of their profession as just a given. Something that they just have to bear with.

When done correctly, augmentation will also enable frontline workers to move a step up in their self-development and possibly career progression. In February, SMRT has begun implementing the use of cleaning robots at MRT stations in the Circle Line.

Instead of forcing workers to give up their job, the initiative provided them with the opportunity to upskill by learning how to manage the robots and troubleshoot minor issues.

Befriending the robot

Now that we have addressed our fear of having robots taking over our jobs, it is time to address upcoming opportunities: Having them as our new colleagues.

Dubbed by industry players as the fastest-growing segment in automation, the popularity of cobots –robots that serve as a function of collaborator of human workers– had been predicted even as early as 2019.

In his piece for Forbes, author Bernard Marr highlighted robot-as-a-service (RaaS) as a promising opportunity for both business owners and tech builder.

” … those who sign up for RaaS get the benefits of robotic process automation by leasing robotic devices and accessing a cloud-based subscription service rather than purchasing the equipment outright. The headaches of ownership, such as paying off an expensive piece of equipment plus handling maintenance issues that spring up, are avoided with RaaS,” he writes.

Even in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore, we have begun to see tech companies scoring projects with various institution to help them improve operations with robots –from cooking noodles to performing surgeries. With the latter, we have also begun seeing investment into the category with the goal of expanding these companies business abroad –another testimony to the prospect of this sector.

  • Experfy Insights

    Top articles, research, podcasts, webinars and more delivered to you monthly.

  • Anisa Menur Maulani

    Tags
    Future of WorkJobsRobots
    Leave a Comment
    Next Post
    The Benefits of Expense Management Software for Your Remote Workforce

    The Benefits of Expense Management Software for Your Remote Workforce

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    More in Future of Work
    Future of Work
    Where Will, the Future of Work, Take Place? (Office, Remote, or Hybrid)

    Changes in machine learning and advances in automation have already changed work for many industries. Still, the COVID-19 pandemic and recent labor shortages forced many brands to rethink what the future of work will look like going forward. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported a dropping unemployment rate of 4.2% during the fourth

    4 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »
    Future of Work
    7 Tech Companies Changing the Future of Work

    Much has been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the traditional workplace. The effects of the pandemic are expected to be long-lasting, making it challenging for companies across all industries to keep operations running smoothly. Globally, companies had to be agile and adapt to a new normal, in addition to dealing with

    5 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »
    AI & Machine Learning,Future of Work
    AI’s Role in the Future of Work

    Artificial intelligence is shaping the future of work around the world in virtually every field. The role AI will play in employment in the years ahead is dynamic and collaborative. Rather than eliminating jobs altogether, AI will augment the capabilities and resources of employees and businesses, allowing them to do more with less. In more

    5 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »

    About Us

    Incubated in Harvard Innovation Lab, Experfy specializes in pipelining and deploying the world's best AI and engineering talent at breakneck speed, with exceptional focus on quality and compliance. Enterprises and governments also leverage our award-winning SaaS platform to build their own customized future of work solutions such as talent clouds.

    Join Us At

    Contact Us

    1700 West Park Drive, Suite 190
    Westborough, MA 01581

    Email: support@experfy.com

    Toll Free: (844) EXPERFY or
    (844) 397-3739

    © 2023, Experfy Inc. All rights reserved.