Technologies like Cognitive Computing, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, amidst others are mainstream these days. The attention they get and the difference they make to the world around us, covers the whole gamut: from conceptualization to real-world applications, from hands-on technical expertise to business value, and from absolute pragmatism to astounding awe and bewilderment. While these technology advancements are disrupting the world around us lest in a way making the human workforce redundant. In this blog, Sachin Janai delves deeper into the real-world impact of the technology revolution around us.
Consider these examples:
- Amazon is contemplating starting a human-less grocery store and meanwhile a restaurant in California has recruited robots that are making hamburgers in mere 10 seconds. Hang-on, really?
- Commercial drones and big data analytics combined with cloud storage will mean anytime anywhere delivery without any traffic hassles.
- Firedrop, a website builder tool, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically create uniquely designed websites around your content. It requires no templates or design, and is created in minutes.
- University of California (UC) Berkeley recently launched RISELab that will enable computers to make intelligent real-time decisions.
- Face, Iris scans, image processing and biometric recognition technologies will lead to more effective security measures in the coming years. Voice responsive AI systems will integrate information from websites, in-vehicle communication, and restaurants or flight bookings. Think of calling your bank and not having to talk to an IVR but an intelligent machine that understands and pre-empts what you are looking for. Wouldn’t that be simply awesome!
These technological advancements are happening sooner than you could fathom it. Sure we had the wheel, then the light bulb and so on and so forth. But the pace at which newer ways of doing things is making it to the market is breathtaking.
But it does paint a bleak picture over job securities as machines are all-set to take the human workforce over. It’s said, self-driving vehicles will soon make a third of the truck drivers obsolete in the next decade. AI will fast eliminate or marginalize dependency on humans. It will happen to the least educated first and will then impact drivers, waiters, factory workers and office administrators etc.
With emerging technologies comes the daunting apprehension over the golden age for computer programmers coming to an abrupt end. The same tools, technologies, programs and services designed by Programmers will scourge their fate and more so their job security. Unnerving?
Well this insecurity over machines taking over human workforce has been existent for decades now. What might sound disturbing is that what earlier seemed a fiction, is turning into a brutal reality.
It is implicit that simpler task and professions will be taken over by smart machines. However, these apprehensions over smart machines taking over is more a hoax than actuality. These machines will depend on us for programming and commands. There will still be enough room for those willing to improve and take on new and unknown challenges.
But this isn’t happening for the first time in our evolutionary process. We had the same apprehension when the telephone was invented, when the computer was invented or when the internet was invented. We had to just adapt to a better lifestyle that automated otherwise redundant tasks. So it’s safe to say, we got smarter with technology.
The game-changers of the new age will be able to concentrate on solving more complex and challenging problems, unfettered by the drudge of simplistic, repeatable tasks that will be handled by AI systems. Next generation of programmers will have to grow and become more proficient. They will develop new tools that will then take over yet another portion of their tasks, forcing and performing them to grow and adapt, and the evolution wheel will continue to roll.
