Should there be laws restricting the automation of jobs?
Science fiction has long imagined a future with humans constantly interacting with robots and machines. This future is already happening in most blue-collar jobs such as in warehouses and manufacturing businesses. In other businesses, workers use virtual or augmented reality as a part of the training, to assist them in performing their job. Several politicians and experts in technology law are calling for the government to build a department that focuses on artificial intelligence (AI), as AI is ubiquitous and presents itself in everything from cell phones to self-driving cars. Although regulating automation will preserve jobs and customer satisfaction, partial automation can improve the efficiency of the industries and the economic status of the country without compromising customer satisfaction, while allowing people to get safer and better jobs.
Some people think that automating the jobs in the service industry will affect customer satisfaction and negatively affect the employment of the disabled. Adopting a “system of partial automation” (Fussel) will only improve customer satisfaction as the employees will have more time to help the customer as the AI takes care of the simple tasks while improving efficiency. Technology can also enable people with disabilities to make a living wage like in Japan where “A cafe staffed by robot waiters controlled remotely by paralyzed people” (BBC) was opened and the “robot’s controllers earned 1,000 yen (£7) per hour — the standard rate of pay for waiting staff in Japan.” (BBC)
Automation lowers the cost of living and benefits the common people. When new efficiency-enhancing technology is introduced into the market, “it reduces the production costs per unit of the good, shifting (increasing) the supply curve right.” (Nik) which leads to a lower equilibrium price, making it more affordable. Making the goods more affordable increases the demand which drives the industry to train and employ more workers to operate the machines. This has happened before in the textiles industry during the 19th century, when “98% of the labor required to weave a yard of cloth” (Nik) was automated and as a result of this the cost of clothing was reduced and increased the demand to “meet this consumer demand, the textile industry experienced net jobs growth, despite the labor-saving technology reducing the labor required per unit of output.” (Nik)
AI will allow people to get better jobs while dangerous and labor-intensive jobs will be automated. Some jobs, in America, have a much higher risk of fatal injuries than others, all these jobs have a fatal injury rate above the national average of all workers of about “3.5 per 100,000 full-time workers,” (Kiersz). The only common thing with all these jobs is that they are all labor intensive and robots can be designed to do these jobs more efficiently. Pipeline and fuel tank inspections can be the most critical and dangerous job in the transportation industry as a lot of lives could be lost if there is a fuel leak on a plane and the worker must go through serious training. And it turns out there are “2.5 million miles of pipeline” (Pettitt) that not all that safe and it has led to about “9 million gallons of oil spilled from pipelines in the U.S. since 2010.” (Pettitt). This problem was solved by robots backed up with artificial intelligence, which was designed to efficiently check and report oil leaks. Though it is expensive to use the robots, it is “much cheaper than dealing with a major spill.” (Pettitt)
Regulating development in this field is not a good idea as automation and artificial intelligence have more potential to help than to hurt people. Automation taxes and subsidies will slow down innovation and without new efficient robots, it will be challenging to keep up with the demand for goods. AI will not hurt the service industry as long as it is not overused and only used to automate tasks that do not involve interacting with the customers and will enable disabled people to become a part of the workforce. Robots will improve the productivity in the industries that integrate them, which leads to increased production and lower cost of living. AI can allow people to get better jobs as the labor-intensive jobs will be automated in the most efficient way possible, which contributes to a more affordable living. Perhaps some jobs will become obsolete when the industries become more productive but the undeniable fact is that the demand for goods is increasing exponentially and AI is the best way for industries to keep up with the demand.
Fitzpayne, Alastair, et al. “Automation and a Changing Economy: The Case for Action.” The Aspen Institute, 10 Dec. 2020, www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/automation-and-a-changing-economy-the-case-for-action/.
Fussell, Sidney. “The Quiet Ways Automation Is Remaking Service Work.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 2 July 2019, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/automation-hotel-strike-ai-jobs/579433/.
“Japanese Cafe Uses Robots Controlled by Paralysed People.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Dec. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/technology-46466531.
Kiersz, Andy, and Madison Hoff. “The 34 Deadliest Jobs in America.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 June 2020, www.businessinsider.com/the-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america-2018-7.
Nik. “How AI Automation Could Boost Employment: The Role of Demand.” Bits and Atoms, 28 Nov. 2018, bitsandatoms.co/how-ai-automation-could-boost-employment-the-role-of-demand/.
Pettitt, Jeniece. “This High-Tech Robot Is Helping Energy Companies Prevent Oil and Gas Pipeline Spills.” CNBC, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/04/08/diakonts-robot-could-help-prevent-oil-and-gas-pipeline-spills.html.
