Job automation, the use of machines to replace human workers, has been one of the hottest and most researched topic in business today. Companies of all sizes turn to automation as a mean of cutting costs. In the past, robots primarily took away jobs from the secondary sector of the economy such as factory workers as machines delivered more consistent results and saved workers from performing dangerous tasks. But today, businesses are replacing workers from the service industry with robots that will do the same work but much more efficiently. In recent years companies such as Walmart and MacDonald’s added self-serve machines in which customers check out or make their order through machines instead of having an employee do so. With more ambitious research on the way, governments and businesses are looking to replace truck drivers, police officers, waiters and even financial officers with robots (Molloy, 2017).

Fundamentally speaking, the development of new technology is not a bad thing and should not be looked down upon. However, it is the unintended consequence that is so worrying to public. Replacing workers in the service industry with robots will effectively cut costs for businesses in the long run but will eventually cause tremendous effects to the overall economy as the unemployment rate skyrockets. Finding the right balance between a profitable business model while still hiring human employees may be a challenging task in today’s world but some companies have it figured out.

Amazon, one of the leading tech companies in job automation, assigned new roles to their existing employees after their jobs have been replaced by newly introduced robots. Staff members were trained to either operate the machines or got other jobs where humans outperform the machines at (Wingfield, 2017). Some of which included picking individual items off the shelves or moving items that are odd in shapes and sizes. Such a business practice is highly respectable and will set an example of positive business ethics in its industry. As technology slowly eats into all areas of the economy, millions of people will slowly begin to lose jobs due to automation. The jobs replaced by robots will no longer be limited to factory workers but will also spread into the service sector. Sooner or later, robots with the aid of Artificial Intelligence will begin to take away jobs from banks and financial institutions, we are already starting to see banks replace bankers with technology (Nelson, 2016). Therefore, it is very important for major companies to serve as the role model for hiring human employees while undergoing transformation, so that greater economic problems do not arise.

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Source Citations

Molloy, M. (2017, March 20). Real-life Robocops will soon replace human police. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/20/real-life-robocops-will-soon-replace-human-police/

Nelson, E. (2016, October 04). A big Dutch bank is replacing 5,800 people with machines, at a cost of $2 billion. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://qz.com/799816/dutch-bank-ing-is-replacing-5800-people-with-machines-at-a-cost-of-2-billion/

Wingfield, N. (2017, September 10). As Amazon Pushes Forward With Robots, Workers Find New Roles. Retrieved September 12, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/technology/amazon-robots-workers.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness