Evolution In The Way Of Machines

Evolution in the way of Machines

The world is constantly evolving, and in our time it is easy to observe how technology surrounds us everywhere we go. Even though technology is useful and improves our quality of life, using the branch of robotics to take over the work industry can skyrocket unemployment. The work industry needs to have a balance between human and robotic work for people not to lose their source of income. This is an issue that affects everybody because we all depend of a job to put food in our tables. The issue is the impact it can bring to society: How many jobs are being lost due to robots? Do they generate an alternative job source; if they do is it enough to cover the individuals they replaced? Is it beneficial to the middle class people? If robots are allowed to freely take the job market, unemployment will rise steeply and Americans will find themselves struggling to feed their family.

Now, more people are losing their jobs and being replaced by machines. As stated in the research done by the “Oxford Martin School’s Program” on the Impacts of Future Technology, “45 % of the American jobs are at high risk of being taken by computers within the next two decades” ( Rutkin ). Companies like Philips Electronics are using robots to increase their profitability, and in their Dutch countryside factory they use 128 robot arms to do the work of hundreds of employees ("Skilled Work, without the Worker."1). Here in the US, Earthbound Farms located in California is in use of four robotic arms, which they customized to help them accelerate the process of packing organic lettuce and preparing them for shipping. According to the engineer chief executive at Adept Technology John Dulchinos “The robots move far faster than the people they replaced. Each robot replaces two to five workers at Earthbound”( "Skilled Work, without the Worker." 4). In 2012 Amazon obtained Kiva Systems; a robotic structure programmed to take their web orders and move them from their storage location to their departure point. In the Article “Eight Ways Robots Stole Our Jobs in 2013,” it states that, “The company now has 1,382 of the machines in three fulfillment centers, which means it eventually may not even have to hire the tens of thousands of temporary workers it brings on for the busy holiday season”(Dephillis). This is concerning because people use these types of work and companies to start building work experience and generate and extra income. If we lose these positions, thousands of people will find themselves unemployed and some may lose the chance to start moving up in a company from an entry level position. Though some may look at this as an opportunity to incentivize higher education, we cannot take for granted that the high cost of such makes it sometimes inaccessible. Besides, these types of jobs help students to generate an income throughout college. Taking this chance away will make it even more difficult for them financially. Not to mention families who use these jobs as their main source of income.

In addition, robots need maintenance but they do not generate the same amount of employment to compensate the quantity of workers that were lost. It is true that a robot can work endless hours, requires no breaks, and it cannot be injured; but who does it really benefit? Certainly, it is not the common people that depend of a job to feed the family and survive. In the New York Times article “Skilled Work, Without the Worker”. Stephen Suckenik, an electrical engineer from Bronx, NY ,shares his personal experience. In 1965 he worked for a large company, he describes that back then, it took 3 engineers about 18 months to design and produce an aeronautical mechanism. Then he adds that by the year 2000 when he left the company; a senior engineer with the use of software tools was able to design a complete package in 6 months. Suckenik then adds that, “The package required no technicians to wire up circuit boards or drafting people to draw up the schematics and the mechanical design”. He mentions that when

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