The evolving sphere of robotics and the theories around how they would be usher in job losses are something one gets to read about most of the time these days.

This article is an attempt to move away from the din and noise around the threats and explore from a human angle (as opposed to a technical angle) and why there could be still light at the end of the tunnel!

Before we get into details, a bit of clarification on the usage of the word “apocalypse”. Apocalypse in English language among other things, could refer to the following:

1. A prophetic revelation, especially concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good permanently triumph over the forces of (R1)
2. any universal or widespread destruction or disaster (R1)

In this context, the usage is aligned to the meaning as per point 2 above, albeit in the business context.

Negative news mongering – All of us know that negative news sells, because we are generally interested in “other’s misery”! So it is not uncommon to find economists, techies or corporate gurus predicting a corporate apocalypse in terms of lost jobs in the next few years, due to the evolution of robotics. A recent article quoting a study by McKenzie predicts that by 2030, 800M jobs could be lost due to automation (R2), though the same study suggests there could be significant new jobs creation. But we tend to pick up the first line on job loss and set in panic in our minds. In fact many parents concerned about the welfare of their kids, have started looking around for possible professions which would not be consumed by robots in the near future.

Admittedly, there is a fair bit of truth in such news, my view is panicking or worrying does not help. The tragedy in my view in this evolving story is that while significant resources – energy and time are being devoted to spell doom, precious little, relatively speaking, is being invested in understanding and exploring alternatives.  So in the coming paragraphs, without digging too much in detail, let’s explore evidences from the past and how the future could still be bright

Look backward to move forward: Sometimes in life, more so in a philosophical context, it pays to take a deep look at how we have travelled, before taking a forward plunge, which could be life changing again. In this context, we could be served well with some hard data of the past, especially last 30 years which was marked by quick evolution of computing and the internet. We could easily recall the doomsayers predicting the end of many jobs, which indeed happened, but what is missed out is that there were more jobs created than what was lost. The net result was positive, yes. As a re-assurance, take a look at the statistics below:

1. Appearing on the website “theverge.com” an article, quoting a study regarding advancement in computing, says that advent of personal computer has created 18.5M net new jobs, despite factoring the job losses since 1980. (R2).
2. The report further adds that the total number of people employed in the United States more than doubled from 65 million in 1960 to 152 million in 2017, according to data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. (R2).
3. A study by McKenzie Global Institute (MGI) titled “ Jobs lost Jobs gained: workforce transition in times of automation” (R3) published in December 2017, states that there could be up to 180M new jobs in technology and in healthcare especially considering rising income and aging and another 20M from energy investments.

Hard facts aside, I would like to draw reader’s attention to the phenomenal growth in new age jobs like financial services, telecommunications, retail sector, customer service professionals etc., even while old fashioned bank teller, post man etc., have dwindled. Even on a more simplistic note, while automation is consuming the IT space itself, look at the depth and breadth of specialisation within IT – what was simply a hardware and software has branched off into mind boggling specialities with serious knowledge and competence base. After the advent of Facebook, twitter and host of other such platforms, a new profession called digital marketing, social media specialists have emerged. These were just absent in the past and obviously would not have come in the imagination of those who claim to have a vision into the future!

While the naysayers in us could tell that the story with industrial robotics could be significantly different and hence destruction is perhaps the order of the day than creation, then I would request them to be wary of that aspect of human intelligence, which is far more creative in imagining catastrophe, than painting a beautiful future.

A positive way to look ahead & 3S Mantra: For those who believe in the theory of evolution, there is a good news – humans have mastered the art of survival amidst extreme conditions and more powerful predators to come to this stage, obviously there are ways to survive, sustain and succeed (3S Mantra) against this robotic tsunami. Sure, there are differences between those historic predators and the present day man made stuff. But to believe that we would just vanish without a fight is stretching it bit too far, in my view.

Now, coming to the ways to deal with this brewing tsunami is to re-skill and re-orient oneself to the changing needs. This has always worked and would work in the future as well. The second option could be to unlearn and learn a new skill to make a complete shift. We have examples of this even today, where people from let’s say manufacturing leave that in totality and move into sales, a case in point to highlight the nature of the shift.

There are policy imperatives from the government and business side, sometimes working in tandem to deal with fluidity in labour market, extending transition support, skills upgrade in bringing about the desired economic growth (R3). I am sure that there are many ways to survive and sustain, apart from the above suggestions. The idea is to highlight that robotics as an area does not become a source of trouble for the already stressed human mind!

Finally in my view, lack of adaptability (a personal human quality) is a bigger killer than any new technology or phenomenon. So, I would like to end this note with a thought “Jobs may be gone but not work”