American job hunters are now worried that robots will throw out their résumés
American job hunters are now worried that robots will
throw out their résumés
People may have reached a tipping point over the future
of automation.
They’re coming for your job. At least, that’s what many
Americans fear.
By QUENTIN FOTTRELL Published: Oct 4, 2017 6:23 p.m. ET
Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates have sounded warnings
about automation. And the American public appears to be listening.
Most Americans expect these advancements to have a
negative impact on both the workforce and the U.S. economy, according to a new
survey of more than 4,100 people in the U.S. released Wednesday by the Pew
Research Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C. Perhaps surprisingly, some
67% of people are worried rather than enthusiastic (22%) about algorithms
evaluating and choosing job candidates. However, people are more sanguine when
it comes to driverless cars (54% express worry) and robot caregivers (47%
express worry).
The findings suggest workers are fearful of automation:
• 72% of Americans are worried about robots replacing
human jobs — more than double the share (33%) that is enthusiastic
• 77% of people think it’s realistic that robots and
computers might one day be able to do many of the jobs currently done by humans
• And yet only 30% think it “very or somewhat likely”
that their own jobs or professions will be done by robots or computers in their
lifetimes
‘The public is extremely wary about allowing machines to
replace human responsibilities and human decision-making. They worry that even
the most advanced technologies can never truly duplicate the creativity and
insight of humans.’
Aaron Smith, an associate director of research at Pew
Research Center
“The public is extremely wary about allowing machines to
replace human responsibilities and human decision-making,” lead author Aaron
Smith, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center, said in a
statement. “Although they anticipate some benefits from the growing trend
toward automation, they worry that even the most advanced technologies can
never truly duplicate the creativity and insight of humans. They also strongly
support policies that limit the reach of automation technologies and that place
humans more fully in control of their processes.”
Do Americans really have cause for concern?
Americans fear that automation will exacerbate inequality
rather than help lower paid workers. Some 76% of those surveyed by Pew expect
that economic inequality will become “much worse” if robots and computers are
able to perform many of the jobs that are currently done by humans. And only
one-quarter of respondents believe the economy will create many new,
better-paying jobs for humans if this scenario becomes a reality. What’s more,
64% expect that people will have a hard time finding things to do with their
lives if forced to compete with advanced robots and computers.
Americans fear that automation will exacerbate inequality
rather than help lower paid workers. Some 76% of those surveyed by Pew expect
that economic inequality will become “much worse” if robots replace many jobs.
Automation is expected to eliminate 25 million jobs by
2027, impacting service and manufacturing industries, according to a recent
study by researchers at Northwestern University. “Our analysis suggests that
without changes to the current U.S. tax system, a sizable fall in the costs of
automation would lead to a massive rise in income inequality,” they wrote. “We
find that income inequality can be reduced by raising marginal tax rates and
taxing robots.” On the plus side, robots are also expected to create 15 million
jobs, Forrester Research found.
The highest concentration of industrial robots occurs in
the Midwest and Upper South of the U.S., according to data released in August
by the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in
Washington, D.C.
More than half of the nation’s 233,305 industrial robots
are burning welds, painting cars, assembling products, handling materials, or
packaging things in 10 Midwestern and Southern states, led by Michigan (28,000
robots or 12% of total number), Ohio (20,400 or 8.7%), and Indiana (19,400 or
8.3%). The entire West accounts for just 13% of the nation’s industrial robots.
The better a job pays, the less likely it is to be
replaced by automation: There’s an 83% chance that automation will replace a
job that pays $20 an hour or less, a White House report released last year
concluded. That falls to 31% for a job that pays between $30 and $40 per hour,
and only a 4% chance for a job that pays $40 an hour or more. But many
traditionally blue-collar jobs will be hard to replace, including carpenters,
plumbers and electricians. Composers, artists, health care practitioners, home
health aides, elder care specialists, child care workers, engineers, teachers
and, finally, human resources executives are — for now at least — less likely
to be impacted.
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