The advancement of technology is nothing new to human societies. For as long as we can remember in human history, there have always been tools being used to help us in various ways. It is also evident that these tools have technologically evolved and has always improved as time progressed, in order to help us complete a multitude of tasks and simply make our lives 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 technological 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. An example could be recognized during the mid-19th century within the United States, where in the mid-19th century, 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 lost their livelihood and were required to move and search for new jobs in order to help sustain themselves and their family. This awful situation is still happening on a massive scale in today’s society, due millions of jobs being taken by technology and tens of million more are at risk to the same fate. The mass 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 cheap costs of technology nowadays, it is hard for companies to turn down the use of technology. We, the general public however, must be aware of this issue that faces us and we must react to the situation before it becomes an overwhelming problem in our society. A problem that could potentially destroy 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 quick convenience instead of a long term problem, 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 perform the same task the machines are handling. Another common example would be ATMs. These machines allow us to deposit and withdraw money quickly and efficiently from many locations, without having to visit the bank and communicating with an accountant (Grey). Both of these examples are huge conveniences for us, there is no denying that. Not only that, but they are much cheaper and work more efficiently than employees would, so most companies will prefer them over actual workers. However, the self-checkout lines and ATMs also common and clear examples that are constantly seen, used, and ignored by the general public. Of course something like self-checkout may not seem like a big issue, replacing a few minimum wage workers. Yet, 47% of jobs in the U.S. are at risk of being automated, which is major issue that we are being faced with (Berger). An issue we should recognize and work towards resolving instead of ignoring, simply because the quick conveniences it offers us.

Technology is creeping into almost every workplace in the U.S., and is robbing many of workers 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. The problem is however, these jobs are coming back 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 workers in the U.S. or overseas, companies can simply purchase or develop, and maintain a machine that works much more efficiently than a person would, and does not require a constant salary that an employee would works for. This ideology of accepting cheap and efficient technology is being accepted by many businesses and corporations, along with the rapid improvements 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. They believe that we as a society will adapt to the advancement of technology like we always have in the past. However, this technological revolution that we are currently going through is greatly different than anything previously in human history. For example, in the early-1900s, horses were used for many purposes for centuries; they essentially worked for us, helping us with our daily lives, whether it was for extra man-power or transportation. They could be seen as our workers. However, eventually the invention of cars and other vehicles came along. These machines quickly improved and outperformed horses in almost every task, which led to a massive decline in the uses of horses. This decline in horses can be comparable to us humans in the coming future if nothing is done to resolve the automation situation. Although humans are the primary workforce at the moment it does not mean we are safe from being replaced by cheaper and more efficient technology (Grey).

Those who believe we will simply adapt to the must realize that technology is advancing much more rapidly now than it had before and adapting will be extremely difficult due to the pace of the advancements in technology. Some of the people who believe we can simply adapt to this issue and supports mass automation lies in our government, which can be quite problematic for the rest of us. During Donald Trump’s run for presidency, a big part of his campaign was urging companies to hire Americans, to keep jobs within our borders. However, automation has not been recognized as a large threat, yet most of the jobs that Trump’s administration claims being lost overseas are also being lost to automation. In fact, after many reports warning us of massive numbers of unemployment due to automation, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says, "I'm not worried at all, in fact, I'm optimistic.”, which is not something we the workforce of the U.S. should not accept (Weller). Automation is a problem and the government should recognize it in order to preserve the millions of American jobs that will be lost in the near future.

 Furthermore, part of the problem with technology advancing too quickly is 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 do not require much repetitive labor such as jobs in the medical field, or even more creative occupations. An example of this would be the use of technology during surgery instead of perhaps human nurses. Another example would be news articles being written by computers, instead of actual writers and editors. This rise of automation into new occupations 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 the side where machineries are performing simple 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 technology that helps reduce physical labor, we are now witnessing technology that is being used to help reduce our 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 the computer grade essays, but they can write as well. It is capable of writing things such as stories, sports articles, and even music (Steiner). With all these capabilities, why would something like a local news station not pick this technology over actual workers when it comes to efficiency in time and money? This is the question that is now being asked constantly, and answered just as quickly, and it has essentially become the root of the problem.

The future that lies before us currently will be disastrous in terms of employment with the rate of automation currently. Hundreds of millions could lose their jobs, and possibly even more will have trouble finding jobs that automation has not already claimed. Students will be graduating by the millions out of college with a degree that should qualify them for certain jobs, but with the mass automation of jobs, many of these students will remain in debt and have a difficult time finding a career that they spent tens of thousands for a chance to study and prepare for. Automation may bring an abundance of convenience, but at this rate of technological growth, it has and will further become more of an issue than a convenience, and that should be recognized by the general public and our government so that we may resolve this automation epidemic.

The first step that should be taken to solve this issue is, as previously mentioned, to truly recognize the threat it has now and long term, and how it may affect us and future generations of workers. People must realize that thousands of 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 should not be accepted by anyone, and fixes must be applied to problems like this in order to help protect millions of innocent workers. We must also shift some of the blame for unemployment from outsourcing to automation. Although outsourcing is a major issue, automation should be seen as a bigger problem. Even now, the “cheap labor” overseas must compete with automation that is now jobs in their countries too (Lee).

The next step is to simply prepare ourselves for this problem that has spread across not only the U.S. but globally. Technology will always improve for the conveniences they offer; however, it is up to us to decide how to implement technology, as well as where, and how often. If we are able to control the implementation of technology in our lives and especially our workplaces, we may be able to limit the growth of automation and preserve the jobs of hundreds of millions of Americans, who should not have to compete with technology that is designed to outperform human limitations.

But of course even with too much limitation, technology is going nowhere. Technology will always stay around and improve in a variety of ways. 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 that is beginning to revolve more and more around automation (Deruy). The new workforce that we create, with our educational system, must be able to perform in fields that works with technology, not compete against technology, in order to be survive in this economic revolution that revolves around automation. However, in order to produce that workforce, we must adjust our educational system greatly in order to cater to students the proper knowledge and skillsets, such as computer programming or engineering, that will be applicable in that technologically dependent economy.

In conclusion, automation is growing at an alarming rate, taking jobs by the millions due to their cheap and efficient nature. This has left millions of Americans without jobs, and will leave millions more without jobs as time progresses. However to solve this issue, it must first be noticed and recognized as the problem it is. We must then limit our use of technology, and prepare our future generations in order to compete yet work with automation. Technology is a great part of our society, and it will never disappear, however when it imposes a threat on hundreds of millions of innocent American workers, actions must be taken in order to preserve their livelihoods.
