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Automation and Unemployment

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. – The Borg

Robots, cyborgs and artificial intelligence are fascinating. However, automation may lead to extremely high rates of unemployment in the not so distant future. Indeed, predictions and forecasts are dark. Apparently, by 2045, robots will be able to carry out any job that humans can. Initially, it was believed that humanity will greatly benefit from artificial intelligence advances and technological progress, but it may be the other way around.

Already, Japan and South Korea introduced robots that look exactly like humans. Automation is permeating all that we do. The world would not be the same without the Internet. Almost all most successful companies today have something to do with technology, such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and numerous telecommunication firms. Most people, at least in the West, have social media accounts and spend a great deal of time on online social networking Websites. Most businesses have an online presence, which has become an integral part of doing business.à

Initially, advances in robotics meant more leisure time for humans. However, it also means joblessness. Future robots will be so advanced, that humans will be replaced, in the workforce Apparently, future robots will even be capable to serve as companions, displaying feelings – which is the last human trait believed to be irreplaceable by robots. But alas, we fear one day, robots will be capable of that too. So, the future seems pretty dystopian. As anyone who has ever been unemployed knows, not having a job is a horrible situation to be in.

Some futurists predict that by 2030, we will be hybrids of biological and non-biological thinking. Our brains may be directly connected to the cloud. Sadly, such automation may eradicate spontaneity and the sense of surprise. So, robots may very well simply take over our lives. Perhaps movies like The Terminator and the Borg civilization from the Star Trek franchise were not so far from the truth as we once thought. Technological progress is fast and fascinating, and there is no stopping it. We should brace ourselves for fierce competition with robots for the few jobs left, once artificial intelligence becomes commonplace in the world. Perhaps, the world as we know it will come to an end sooner rather than later. What do you think?