Automation is expected to take over a large number of jobs in the future as the experts predict. The UK based think-tank has recently analyzed the impact of automation in the country. According to their report, the vision of the future which will replace the human labour is very true. They also highlighted the main area which will be affected the most. The “Cities Outlook 2018” report explains how various urban centres in the UK will experience a huge displacement due to the automated systems.
According to the estimate, 20.2 % of the working force will be replaced by 2030 in almost 63 largest urban areas of the country. The estimate made is roughly 6.3 million jobs. The cities which will be affected the most are in the country’s northern areas which means that the less wealthy areas will be affected the most. The automation will affect the administrative jobs, retail sales, customer services, and warehouse work as well. These fields are almost 30% of jobs in Mansfield. It is expected that this city will be affected the most by automation.
Nearly 16% of the workers are in retail jobs in Nottinghamshire. Among 10 people, 1 person is employed in a warehouse or as an admin. Sunderland, Wakefield, Stoke and Doncaster are also at risk in terms of jobs as a result of automation. Oxford and Cambridge, the cities in the southern region will lose 13% of the jobs to the machinery. This makes them the least vulnerable cities to be affected by the machinery. The Centre for Cities report is not the first who is considering the affect of automation in the UK. In 2017, a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that in the next 15 years nearly 30% of the jobs will be automated.
The predictions of job loss in the US ranges from 33% by 2030 and it will to 47% by 2033. Almost 137 million workers in southeast Asia can also lose their jobs to automation within the same time period. It will also affect a lot of jobs all over the world. The industries which will experience a large number of displacements are transportation, sales and customer service, logistics, and healthcare. According to the Centre for Cities report, the jobs which are at risk of automation are those in which the routine tasks are performed by the workers. On the other hand, the jobs that require workers to use their cognitive skills and interpersonal communication abilities cannot be replaced that easily.
On one hand, some are doing their best to stop the automation to save these jobs. Experts also suggest that the focus should be put on enacting policies which can enable humans and machines to work side by side. Ben Bradley, member of parliament (MP) for Mansfield said that investing in training can help to solve the problems that will be caused by the automation. He said, “It’s vital that places like Mansfield, where automation could have a big impact, are the focus for skills and investment in education.”
Some experts also agree that the education and retraining are the only hopes we have right now to cope with automation. Canada is planning to invest in both. Alongside, a number of private companies are also taking similar initiatives. Education is not the only option that needs consideration here. The potential solutions to widespread automation are the establishment of some form of universal basic income (UBI) and the creation of a tax on robots.
Thanks to the advancement in artificial intelligence and robotics, the biggest issue faced by future jobs will be the automation. If we want people to keep their jobs in near future, something serious should be done in near future to get a hold of this problem.
