Automation and job displacement

Being economically productive is not only essential for one’s financial independence but it is also equally important for preserving one’s sense of self-worth and purpose in life. Increasingly we are now witnessing an era where the proliferation of technology is gobbling up occupations of a diverse hue. Initially it was mainly in the domain of repetitive physical labour where the humans were being displaced by machines. Now machines have also started taking over jobs that previously were thought to be the exclusive domain of human intellect. Basically, if the logic behind an activity is predictable and the number of variables influencing such an activity are identifiable and measurable, then it is only a matter of time for automation to come up with a solution that doesn’t involve humans in performing such activities.

So where does this leave us in terms of job security and even more importantly our place in a world that may no longer value or need our skill sets? These are difficult questions indeed and I do not have an answer, except perhaps a generic response in terms of ‘constantly adapting and evolving’. However, one thing that I am sure of is that the risk of automation gobbling up a category / type of job in one go across the world is overstated. This is because adoption of technology does not occur uniformly across all geographies at the same time. While financial feasibility is indeed a critical influencing factor here, there are some other non-financial constraints as well which matter a lot. Some examples of them are listed below.

Have a look at these and let me know what could be the other non-financial factors that are just as important.

1. Legal constraints – e.g. while self-driving cars exist around us, the job of drivers won’t be at risk up until the legal framework around the use of self-driving cars evolves.

2. Social status constraints – e.g. while the Apple Siri may soon evolve even further, it is doubtful if it will render butlers / personal assistants redundant in the higher echelons of the society.

3. Labour mobility constraints – e.g. relative shortage of skilled labour in developed countries has spurred a lot of automation in the field of home improvement activities such as masonry, plumbing, carpentry etc.