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RUNNING HEAD: AUTOMATION THREAT TO EMPLOYMENT

Does automation pose a threat to employment in developed countries?
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AUTOMATION THREAT TO EMPLOYMENT

Introduction
Employment and job creation are heavily influenced by the introduction of technology and
automation tools. There has been a controversy on how automation has influenced the creation of
employment in the job market (Campa, 2017). Many industries have been able to reduce their
cost of production by employing the use of machines and automation. Machines and automation
have led to high output and faster production as compared to human labor.
Over the last decade, self-driven technologies have taken over. The technology revolution has
led to the invention of tools that are applied in marketing larger output and on a greater scale of
products and services in sectors such as driving, manufacturing, sorting materials and
accounting. It is evident that as technology improves and advances, jobs which require manual
input and human power are going to become scarcer (Millington, 2017). This leads to reduced
demand for manpower or human work. Automation tends to pose a threat for many people across
the worlds that have their manual labor being computerized and taken care of by robots or
machines. The risk of high unemployment is tangible and evident to happen in the future.
The growing trends of prioritizing computers, artificial intelligence and robotics have become a
threat to displacing human capital. This might lead to a social and economic repercussion for the
future. Once this automation becomes widespread and commonly used there will be a huge and
massive technical unemployment. For instance, driving industry companies such as Otto have
already initiated automated truck driving (Dickerson, 2018). They have successfully sent most of
those tracks on the road to deliver products for more than 120 miles. This poses a threat to
those employed as company truck drivers in the near future. They may be fired just because the
machine is able to do the same job they were doing efficiently and with less cost.

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AUTOMATION THREAT TO EMPLOYMENT
At some point, one may question the inevitability of technological advances leading to
unemployment. It is logic to reason out that people are losing employment because of
automation that assists in cutting production cost (Millington, 2017). For instance, a machine
does not require to be paid, do not ask for job breaks and vacations or even food so as to increase
production. After considering these factors, it is also important to note that the automated
features of these machines tend to outperform the average human labor. On the same point, a
human worker cannot give effective service for 24/7 period of time nonstop. Their inconsistency
causes the replacement with the machines. On the other hand, it is good to note that
technological advancement has provided job opportunities too young people due to the increase
in innovation. Consequently, it is important to illustrate the technological evolution and how it
has affected employment levels among the workers in the job market especially in developed
nations such as the USA.
Body
Facts and data
Navigation of the positive and negative effects of innovation and technological advancement on
employment requires a critical way of managing this period of transformation. If the technology
innovation is handled poorly, it can widen the gap between the social groups (Millington, 2017).
This includes the rich and the poor thus increasing the number of jobless workers. If it is
properly managed it is able to create employment thus creating enjoyable livelihoods.
According to research done in low-income countries the middle-skilled jobs are increasingly
being automated thus creating two groups of workers in the labor market. The low paid
unskilled worker and the highly paid skilled workers. The likelihood of doing away with
unskilled labor in replacement with automation is very high (Millington, 2017). Technological

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advancement still threatens those who stay in the same job or occupation for long. Jobs might be
transformed due to innovations being made every day.
Data has shown that the use of robots is mainly used in electrical industries. Automation is not
highly evident in labor-intensive industries such as textile industries. The probability of jobs
being computerized poses a threat of about 47% of employment cases that might be at risk
(West, 2015). This means that even their lack of required skills and educational attainment is a
major issue that leads to unemployment due to automation. It is also noted that previously the
introduction of technology ...