"We're losing higher-skill, better-paying jobs to machines," says Autor.
According to a September 2011 infographic about the fastest growing jobs of the next decade, the fastest declining jobs include machine operators, setters, and processors. As a result of the economy, most companies have the mindset that time and money is saved when tasks once done by people are replaced with automated machines. However, low-skill and on-the-job training positions are not the only ones being replaced. An article by Chris Arnold of NPR delves into how the advancement technology is replacing degree-holding positions.
This issue of technology replacing high-skilled workers was a topic discussed by some of the nation’s top technologists and economists at a Harvard and MIT conference aptly named “Rage Against The Machine.”
So what high-skill jobs are being replaced? Andrew McAfee, an MIT researcher, and David Autor, an MIT economist, claim that claims that machines are advancing past more physically dangerous work and are being used for more tedious and error-prone tasks, such as bank telling, accounting, litigation, and tax preparation. Arnold states that high-skill professions held by mostly middle-class people will feel the effects of technological advancement.
However, it’s important to remember that technology and innovation has a way of opening doors that no one can ever fully anticipate. In addition, positions that do require high-skills and human interaction, like healthcare occupations, are very much in demand for the long haul.
How do you feel about high-skill jobs becoming automated? Do you agree that technology creates more jobs than it replaces?
