As human beings, being passionate about knowledge impelled technological advancement in its first three industrial revolutions: mechanization (19th c.—mid 20th c.), mass production (late 19th c.—mid 20th c.), and automation (second half of the 20th c.). Currently, we are experiencing a fourth industrial revolution. It is building upon its predecessors. Thus combining automation and data in manufacturing technologies. It is robotization.
Without a doubt, technological advancement did shorten distances. It is now helping people get rid of all time-consuming factors. Accordingly, any new idea for an application or a business that reduces a consumer’s time waste should flourish. For while you may raise money to develop an idea. Another company somewhere else in the world could already be working faster on a more adaptable idea. Thereby putting an end to your effort, energy, and time of course. In that case, one would need to have a clear vision in order to modify the model or avoid the risk of ending a career. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF),
“Around 7.1 million jobs could be lost in the world’s richest countries because of profusion and automation. Those losses could be substituted by 2.1 million jobs created in sectors such as technology, professional services, and media.”
Hence, if people do not keep up with the train of updates, they will, unfortunately, be left behind. Their career might end at a glance. And here’s what could possibly happen:
This tenacious shift from a simple automation (the Third Industrial Revolution) to innovation based on combined technologies. Namely robotization (the Fourth Industrial Revolution), has been forcing companies to reconsider their business strategies. Accordingly, business leaders and senior executives must acknowledge their altering environment, challenge the presumptions of their operating teams, and innovate consistently.
Nowadays, developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology can disrupt the business world. Similarly to the disruption initiated by previous industrial revolutions. As stated on the World Economic Forum in a report published in January 2016. Also, businesses are not solely obliged to keep up with those constant technological and digital outbursts. Actually, all countries must anticipate the future and any possible drastic measures they would need to take. Moreover, governments will have to invest in education and adult learning programs to transform their workforce if they want to keep up with the changes and avoid in its worst cases “talent shortages, mass unemployment, and growing inequality,” says Klaus Schwab, the founder and chairman of the WEF.
To illustrate,
“Around 65% of children starting primary school today will end up working in jobs that don’t yet exist, and their future training is crucial”
According to the WEF report. The forum surveyed senior executives from over 350 of the biggest companies in 15 of the world’s major emerging and developed economies. Together, those economies account for 65% of the global workforce.
Well, those numbers are clearly alarming. But the fact that mankind is threatened by machines goes way back to the Great Depression era. Between 1929 and 1939, technology was described as “Frankenstein’s monster” that threatened labor. Later in 1964, a committee of scientists and social activists sent an open letter to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, arguing that “the cybernation revolution would create a separate nation of the poor, the unskilled, the jobless”. Who would be either unable to find work or unable to afford life’s necessities?
In his book “Rise of the Robots”, Martin Ford warns that “Artificial intelligence is already well on its way to making even good jobs obsolete”. Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Steve Wozniak are also concerned about the “Jobless Future”.
Two decades ago, American economist Jeremy Rifkin contended in his book The End of Work (1996) that “In the years ahead, more sophisticated software technologies are going to bring civilization ever closer to a near-worker less world.” That is why you have to keep an eye on your work, and the other on what’s going on in the world of business. You might have been working for years on promoting a brand. Or any given business in a platform when a new and more interactive platform suddenly emerges and blows all your efforts and investments off.
TIME is your essential driver
You would not want to waste time and money if you invest in a specific platform and you hire people to do the job. There’s a risk of losing your career as many jobs have ceased, and many businesses, ideas, and platforms are also on the verge of ending.
In the midst of those desperate battles, countries and businesses of all sizes must strive to reduce their losses and potential, yet, inevitable damages. Thus, constant updates and studies are a must. Nevertheless, some jobs remain irreplaceable, for they require the complex analysis and skills of a human brain. For example, robots cannot simplify the most difficult and complicated data into narrative text. By remaining ready to innovate and to upgrade the business alongside every technological change, video will never become obsolete.
One way to accompany technological advancement and help businesses save time is by creating explainer videos. In this manner, potential clients, salespeople, and other individuals can watch the video and grasp its content in no time. Consequently, we reduce the risk of losing out to modern innovations and prove the inescapable need for humans to simplify some industries’ complicated data.
In the end, whatever needs human intelligence and technological advancement cannot replace your job!