Technology is amazing. It is well embraced because it comes with speed, accuracy, and convenience. But it also comes with a big problem that may lead to a global crisis if not tackled. Modern technology destroys millions of jobs every day and it will continue to destroy more.
As it is, jobs are already scarce in every part of the world. With the way technology improves every day, you can only imagine what will happen in the next 10 years. Technology advancement is a blessing, one can only hope it doesn't become a curse.
When technology giants announced that a smart-car that can drive itself will soon be launched, a lot of people jubilated. Nobody has really thought about the implication on the job of private chauffeurs. It does seem to be clear that when this car is launched, companies that offer transportation services will sack their chauffeurs.
Technology is a time bomb waiting to explode at any time. In fact, a smart car is not a very good example because it is still in the making. What about the jobs that have already been taken? Most manufacturing activities have all been automated. A factory that used to provide a source of livelihood to over 20 employees now has just 1 or 2 people running it because all the processes have been automated. Even the person running it is idle most of the time. He only gets to work when something goes wrong with the production line.
Some production lines make use of robots to convey heavy equipment from one point to the other. A single robot does the job of over 20 employees and does it better, more accurately and with greater speed and most importantly, he doesn't earn a dime for it. Apart from the 2 jobs mentioned above, there are other jobs that have been destroyed by technology too. Some of them have been outlined below.
Switchboard Operators
Long before now, the connection of calls used to be done manually by the switchboard operator. Now, technology has taken over completely. Switchboard operation has now been computerized. It is much faster and better now. However, a lot of switchboard operators have lost their jobs for it.
Lift Operators
Then, controlling the lift was someone's job. He would decide what floors to stop. But now, nobody does that. All you have to do is to press the button of the floor of your destination and when you get there, it will stop automatically and allow you to get out. No doubt the convenience is worth it, but do you know how many lift operators lost their job?
Website Developers
While so many jobs have been destroyed completely by technology, thousands more are being threatened. An excellent example is that of a website developer. There are sites that provide a do-it-yourself website development service with customizable templates, widgets, and plug-ins. These sites are collectively known as website builders.
The most unfortunate part of the dangerous technology trend is that it saves a lot of cost to business owners. Why pay people to do a task a robot will do for free? A reasonable balance between technology advancement and job security has to be struck before things get out of hand. Until then, people have to go for jobs that can't easily be taken over by machines.