- Automation could be stopping us from climbing the career ladder
- Robotics decreased the average local market career value in the 2000s and 2010s
- Low-skilled workers affected by technological change are more likely to vote for Trump
Increased automation through artificial intelligence and robotics could be diminishing career opportunities, new analysis has warned.
Although concerns that AI could replace human workers have largely been squashed, with experts seeing the tech more as a co-worker, it could indeed be preventing us from getting our dream careers, a new research paper has claimed.
While the impacts of artificial intelligence are yet to be quantified, the study explores the deployment of robotics through the late 2000s and 2010s to provide an indicator as to what we might be able to expect.
Automation could ruin our chances of getting our dream jobs
According to the study, one additional robot per 1,000 workers decreased the average local market career value by $3,900 between 2004 and 2008, and by $2,480 between 2008 and 2016. The effects are particularly apparent across industries that are heavily exposed to robotics, such as manufacturing. Following the introduction of more tech, low-skilled workers experience declines in upward job mobility.
Bledi Taska, one of the study’s co-authors, shared on LinkedIn: “It’s not just about robots replacing jobs. It’s about robots reducing the opportunities for people to improve their lives. For many workers, particularly low-skilled ones, the ladder to higher-paying jobs is disappearing.”
The study also explored the “connection between declining career prospects and political behavior” – areas most affected by robotics reportedly saw stronger support for populist candidates like Donald Trump during his first term as president.
This is likely because, as workers lose out on opportunities to climb the career ladder, they look toward politicians who promise economic reform.
Taska summarized: “We can shape a future where technology enhances human potential instead of diminishing it—if we act now.”
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