What is the future for recruitment if machines replace all the workers?
When the machines take over the planet and run everything for us, will it be utopia or dystopia? Will they be tireless willing servants or unfeeling brutal masters? Do I watch far too much sci-fi? Questions that have been asked a lot of the past few decades and will continue to be asked as reports emerge that hundreds of millions of jobs could be lost around the world by 2030 as machines replace humans.
We all know how this one plays out:
- We build machines to replace human hands
- We develop AI to think for us
- The machines build better machines
- Like Skynet, the decision to make us all redundant will take a microsecond…!
This isn’t science fiction, this is science fact (well, perhaps except for number 4 – but you never know). If you have ever watched a YouTube video of a car factory in full swing, you will see the possibilities for technology in the workplace. There are, you might argue, humans there to intervene and press the stop button if anything goes wrong, but with the advancements being made in AI there will be no need for their intervention; the machines will decide for themselves.
The robot factory is just the beginning. What profession is safe? Unpredictable activities like gardening have been described as an occupation that is safe, yet if machines are making decisions on the shape of the landscape, what use for gardens would they see? It is a space that could be made more useful so there would be no need for gardeners. I had this conversation with a roofer who told me a machine couldn’t do his job. My reply was that if such was the case, AI architects would simply design a building with a roof that didn’t need tiling.
Machines are getting smarter; they can think for themselves and interact with us, they can compose music and poetry, robotic surgeons are being used successfully in the operating theatres in hospitals around the world. Somewhere a machine could be writing an article for a website that is better almost as good as I could write!
Even before this mass replacement does, or does not, occur there is a real fear among workforces that it will. This workplace anxiety is a problem for business because it inevitably leads to lower productivity. Employers should take note of this and offer support to their staff; either in the form of assurances that their job is safe or, if there is a chance they will lose their current position due to some kind of automation of their duties, an opportunity to learn new skills that will be of value not just to them but the organisation as a whole.
Technology shouldn’t be feared, it should be enjoyed for the betterment and advancement of all humankind. Recruitive positively embraces the forward march of technology. We should, seeing as our recruitment software is the most advanced product of its type on the market. Our industry-leading recruitment websites are designed to make your recruitment drive simple and straightforward from beginning to end, ensuring every stakeholder is kept in the loop at every stage of the process.
Contact us for a detailed consultation about your current recruitment processes.
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