Researchers at MIT analyzed that machines have a significant role in job losses than normally understood. They say, "Many workers are losing the race against the machine" in “Race Against the Machine,” an e-book to be published on Monday.
This reminds me of an old argument in India during the nineties that introducing computers in the workplace would take away jobs from the people. However, as it is evident that the argument proved false as India's economic surge largely was due to the computer based industries and related services.
The reality about the present state of technology is that although people may fear that technology would one day replace almost all aspects of human social life, there is still a long way to go in reaching the stage. Marketing is still an area where people to people contact wins the deal rather than computers. Computers are at their best, at the moment, provide a means for information. People-to-people connection can help you make decisions.
May be, in future, we might see computers interacting with us as effectively as other humans, but at present this seems unlikely for another 5-10 years or so.
As the authors at MIT put in
"...computers tend to be narrow and literal-minded,
good at assigned tasks but at a loss when a solution requires intuition
and creativity — human traits. A partnership, they assert, is the path
to job creation in the future. In medicine, law, finance, retailing, manufacturing and even scientific discovery, the key to winning the race is not to compete against machines but to compete with machines."
With the help of computers and humans, once can take informed decisions. The key is to anticipate the future and prepare for it.
Read complete article at the NYT.