The advancement of technology is nothing new to human societies throughout our history. It is evident that technology has always improved, in order to help us complete tasks or simply make life easier. Without these technological advancements we would not be where we are now. For example, farming for the most part has been a fairly laborious job that without the help of different tools, would take a significantly higher amount of effort in order to produce not too much. However with the tools, it can increase the agricultural output and require much less effort in order to achieve that result. This can be seen through time in the United States, where in the mid-1800s, 50% of the U.S. population worked in agriculture in order to provide food to their family and the rest of society. Today, less than 2% of the U.S. population works in agriculture in order to help feed over 315 million Americans, thanks to the help of tools such as farming machineries and fertilizers (Technology in Agriculture). 

However, due to this millions of farmers had lost their livelihood and had to move on to finding new jobs. This same situation is happening on a massive scale in today’s society, and tens of millions of jobs are at risk of being automated. The automation of jobs will have a vastly negative effect on our society, as occupations from almost every field of work are at risk of being turned over to computers. Furthermore due to the speed of technological advancement and the cheapness of technology nowadays, it is hard for companies to turn down. We, the general public however, must be aware of this issue that imposes us and we must react before it becomes an overwhelming problem in our society, potentially destroying the livelihood of millions upon millions, simply because they cannot compete with something meant to outperform human workers.

This encroachment of technology into workplaces can be seen constantly nowadays, however it may be recognized as a convenience, preventing us from seeing it as an issue we should be aware of. An example of this would be the self-checkout lines in grocery stores. A couple of these lines can be monitored and maintained by a single employee, instead of having to pay multiple cashiers to do the same task. Another example would be ATMs. These machines allow us to deposit and withdraw money quickly and efficiently, without having to visit the bank and communicate with an accountant (Grey). Both of these are huge conveniences, there is no denying that, and they are much cheaper for the company using them. However these are common and clear examples that are seen and ignored by the general public. Of course they may not seem like a big issue, replacing a few minimum wage workers, no big deal right? Well 47% of jobs in the U.S. are at risk to being automated, which is much more than big deal (Berger).

Technology is popping in almost every workplace in the U.S. and is robbing many of their jobs, due to machines being much more cost efficient and productive than an actual human worker. In fact, many jobs that are being outsourced to countries overseas due to the cheap labor are coming back to the U.S. Not because of patriotism or anything like that, but because there is now an even cheaper option for manufacturers now, and option is automation (Lee). Instead of paying laborers, you can simply maintain a machine that works significantly more efficiently than a person would, and it does not require a constant salary. This ideology is taken by many businesses and corporations, along with the rapid improvement of technology, is what pushes the automation of millions of jobs forward at an alarming rate.

Some may argue that technology has always advanced and it is for the better, we as a society will adapt to the advancement of technology. However this technological revolution that we are going through is vastly different than anything previously in human history. For example, in the early-1900s, horses were used for many purposes for centuries; they were a tool for many purposes, helping us with our daily lives, whether it was for extra man-power or transportation. However, soon came along the invention of cars and other vehicles. These machines quickly improved and outperformed horses in almost every task, which led to a massive decline in the uses of horses and they are not as common anymore outside of some farms and such. This decline in horses can be comparable to us humans in the coming future if nothing is done to resolve this massive issue. Similarly to horses in the past, although we populate and are required in such a large amount of occupations, we must realize we are not completely safe and we too may lose the vast majority of jobs available (Grey).

Those who believe we may adapt must realize that technology is advancing much more rapidly now than it had before. Due to computers, almost having minds of their own, many jobs that were previously believed to be safe are now endangered as well, jobs that does not require much repetitive labor such as workers in the medical field, or even more creative occupations. This is due to computers being able to learn from themselves and other computers. This has allowed them to do more flexible tasks, rather than just simple repetitive actions (Lewis-Kraus). This “mind” can be referred to as artificial intelligence, the other side of automation that many people may not think of as quickly as machineries doing physical labor, when automation is mentioned. The concept of artificial intelligence can recognize in something as common as a calculator, used for calculating problems in order to help humans “think” less. Similarly to machinery that helps reduce physical labor, we are now witnessing technology reduces mental labor as well (Grey).

As previously stated, computers are now able to learn, and learn quickly. This has allowed technology to do all sorts of tasks that were previously safe from machines that just repeated simple acts. In fact, an example of a machine being able to learn and do more mentally involving tasks this would be a machine that can grade essays almost as well as a teacher would. This machine was created to grade very similarly to actual essay graders, and they learned how to do this by observing previously graded papers. This machine gives grades nearly identical to human graders, and it works for free and it works quickly. Not only can they grade essays, but they can write as well. They are capable of writing things such as stories, sports articles, and even music (Steiner). With all these capabilities, why would you not pick technology over actual workers when it comes to efficiency in time and money? This question is now being asked constantly, and answered just as quickly, and it has essentially become the root of the problem we now must recognize and resolve.

The first step that should be taken to solve this issue is to truly recognize the issue. Companies across the country are taking advantage of this growth in technology and its efficiency. Companies are producing and making more, with fewer workers. Generals Motors now has about a third of the workers they employed in the 1970s, however they produce more than ever (Wiseman). Situations like this must be recognized, and some of the blame for unemployment should be shifted from outsourcing to automation. Although outsourcing can be a big issue, automation should be recognized as a bigger problem. Even now, the “cheap labor” overseas must compete with automation now found in their countries too (Lee).

The next step is to prepare ourselves for this huge issue that is now taking over the U.S. Technology will always advance, it is up to us however to decide how we implement it and how often we implement it into our lives and workplaces. We must find a method to reduce and limit the use of technology in order to help preserve the jobs of hundreds of millions of Americans.

But of course even with limitation, technology is going nowhere; therefore we also must extend our efforts into the educational system. This is especially important since those going through this educational system must acquire skills and knowledge that will be relevant and useful in our quickly changing economy and society (Deruy). The new workforce we create throughout educational system must be able to work in specific field, and likely compete against or work alongside technology, in order to be successful in this economic revolution that revolves around automation.
