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Name: Emmanuel Yeboah Discussion Thread Topic: Management - Automation of Jobs and Tasks Degree: DBA in Information Systems The ‘Machines are coming’ for our jobs : Automation, digitalization, and artificial intelligence are all current buzzwords associated with the workforce, labor, and the fear of losing jobs to machines. Interesting how over the years some jobs that used to be for humans only, have been relinquished to automation or robots. There has been divided reviews concerning this change – some view automation as a positive change for some jobs, while others think humans will do a better job. This article looks at how far we have come in the workforce and the benefits of automation and some of the negativity surrounding automation or digitalization. To delve deeper into this topic, we need to first understand what automation means and its association to business or labor market. Automated robots are systems constructed using artificial intelligence that does not need manual intervention to operate and perform autonomously due to pre-programed information. “The Government of Canada defines artificial intelligence as, information technology that performs tasks that would ordinarily require biological brainpower to accomplish, such as making sense of spoken language, learning behaviors, or solving problems”. ( Larsson & Teigland, 2020). Current Trend: Is Automation the future? Accelerating digitalization process of the labor market is an inevitable process which is necessary to move the economy forward, however, it is a sour topic among the workforce as many think that artificial intelligence (AI) will take over their jobs and that creates a rather gloomy picture of the labor market for the future, in their view.

Some effects of automation on the economy Relative wage reduction: “ It is an undeniable fact that automation and robotics, along with their various manifestations, are anticipated to have an impact on society and each individual’s life and work”. ( Matthews & Greenspan, 2020, pp. 14). Acemoglu & Restrepo, (2022), makes the case of “relative US wages decrease for blue-collar workers in the manufacturing industry within the last four decades as due to the introduction of numerical-controlled machinery and industrial robots”. Christenko, (2022), agree with this assertion that most “academic literature emphasizes that automation leads to job displacement, polarization of labor, slower wage growth for the middle skilled and more”. There is also the issue of ‘occupation competition’ with automation or robots as stated by Christenko, (2022, para 1), that “individuals from occupations who share tasks with occupations that have a low probability of automation can more easily find new jobs if they lose their current one”. So, there is a real concern that automation can replace jobs and subsequent wage reduction and increase unemployment in some instances. However, the argument can also be made that we can never have a 100% automation facility since human interference or supervision is needed to keep automated systems working properly. Even though certain very simple tasks such as carding/clocking in at work or traffic lights are automated there is constant human supervision to ensure proper operation. We are so dependent on similar processes and more comfortable with automation preference rather than a human service point. In fact, we are so comfortable with automation of such processes that anything different than the norm will be frowned upon. There is also the case made by others that some jobs which are at the top of the skill ladder are immune to being replaced by automation and are rather safe. (Sampson, 2021). But Sampson (2021), explains that the challenge of automation and job

displacement/replacement is not at the skill level but rather at the task level which does not make anyone immune to the transformation. The Future – areas of future research. Can there be a balance where both humans and robots co-exist? This is true since AI and automation are processes which when applied effectively will make the lives of a worker better. “ Work is an old, well-known concept, but digitalization is not. We are still grappling with what it is both in philosophical and practical terms. And above all we struggle to understand what impact digitization will have on some of the most fundamental human activities”. ( Larsson & Teigland, 2020. pp. 2). Self-driven cars: This is a concern both in the area of workforce and also in the area of safety. The concern is less jobs for transportation like Uber, Lyft and taxi cabs, where self-driven cars can be ordered for pickup and drop-off. Also, of concern is the area of food delivery, where self- driven cars are also able to deliver pizza and other groceries, a job which a human would have done. A case can also be made of mail delivery by drones, and others have even spoken of automated aircrafts that can pick up and fly to a destination with passengers. Best of both worlds: The big question can humans and machine co-exist? And I think the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Because it takes humans to build, write codes to program machines and maintain automated systems. Whereas it may seem like jobs are being lost on the manual labor side, other skill-based jobs are being created – programmers, software builders, labor for automated systems assemblies and lastly automation maintenance. This means that the workforce will need to get smarter and move away from general labor to more skilled job functions. More specifically, job opportunities have shifted away from middle-skill occupations and toward high- and low-skill occupations, a phenomenon named “job

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polarization”. The disappearance of middle-skill occupations has resulted in a decline in the labor force share of workers suitable for middle-skill occupations. This decline has been accompanied by a larger increase in the labor force share of workers suitable for high-skill occupations rather than low-skill occupations. As workers in high-skill occupations have lower unemployment rates compared with workers in middle- and low-skill occupations, job polarization also contributes to a lower natural rate. ( Tüzemen, 2019, para 3). Automation is very beneficial to the economy of any business and country as it reduces labor- intensive jobs in many cases, enhances smooth flow of business and error-proofing of rather technical operations. Automated products and robots like bulldozers, skyscraper cranes, shipping crane loaders are examples of the strides we have made economically by employing robots to execute rather stressful and dangerous jobs in the industry. And in our everyday life, elevators, self-driven trams, airplanes and even our cellphones are all technological advancement that help to improve our lives. Error-proofing : Automation helps in error-proofing and increases current general manufacturing practices (cGMP) in a manufacturing environment which improves quality of products and save time and money due to increase in ‘first-time-right’ performance of manufacturing activities. ( Raizada et al, 2022).

References Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2022). Tasks, Automation, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality: Econometrica Journal of the Econometric society. 90(5), 1973 – 2016. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA19815 Christenko, A., (2022). Automation and occupational mobility: A task and knowledge- based approach : Technology in Society . 70( 101976 ) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022 Larsson, A., & Teigland, R. (2020). The digital transformation of labor: automation, the gig economy and welfare . https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/reader.action?docID=5986888 Matthews, P., & Greenspan, S. (2020). Automation and collaborative robotics: a guide to the future of work . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5964-1. Raizada, G. A., Vinayak, K., & Kher, V. (2022). Addressing laboratory challenges through automation & process excellence: Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry., 27(S1), p.S46 https://link.springer.com/journal/12291/volumes-and-issues

Sampson, S. E., (2021). A Strategic Framework for Task Automation in Professional Services. Journal of Service Research., 24(1), 122–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520940407 Tüzemen, D., (2019). Job polarization and the natural rate of unemployment in the United States: Economics Letters . 175, 97-100 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.12.011

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