Are Machines Replacing Humans?

In today’s manufacturing industries, machines seem to become more and more capable of outperforming humans at almost any task. This well known fact leaves society confronting one question: “If machines are capable of doing almost any work humans can do, what will humans do?" Ever since job creation in manufacturing reached its peak in the United States in 1980, it has been on a decline as mechanics and technology advance.

Today there are more than 200,000 industrial machines and robots in the United States as their numbers continue to rise. Currently, research is focused on the reasoning abilities of machines rather than just physical tasks. Although progress has been made; it is difficult for experts to predict just how intelligent robots could become, if the machines will remain understandable for humans, if humans will be able to control them, and if they will always work towards our benefit. Questions such as these are being raised due to recent advances in technology that allow machines to see and hear similar to humans.

Many estimate that 10% of jobs related to driving in the United States could disappear due to the rise of “driver-less cars” in the decades to come. Various self-driving vehicles, autonomous drones for surveillance/automatic trading systems, house robots, and other kinds of "intelligence assistance" that make decisions on behalf of humans have already become part of daily living across the globe.

19 billion has been requested by The Pentagon for developing intelligent weapon systems. Concerns about these new technologies arise due to their unknown ability to analyze information and efficiently execute complex tasks, as well as the possibility of humans losing control of the artificial intelligence they once created. Humans are limited by slow biological evolution. If our intelligence speed or efficiency could someday not compete with machines, we could eventually be superseded.

While some find these questions terrifying, many experts believe that there will always be need for human work in the future. Robots and machines can (and will) drastically change the landscape, but that does not mean all the jobs will be taken. Theoretically, many believe that more jobs will be created as more need for creativity and innovation arises. 

In assumption that history will repeat itself, skeptics often look to our world’s past outcomes for answers. Historically, the economy has adapted over time and adjusted to technological innovations. Mechanical advancements have created various types of new jobs. The most classic example of this is the development of agriculture. In the 1800s, 80 percent of the United States’ labor force worked on farms. Today, less than 2 percent of the labor force works on farms. Mechanization didn’t completely destroy the economy. It made food readily available and affordable compared to what it was relative to income. As a result, most of society has money to spend on other things. Citizens have transitioned to jobs in other areas where knowledgeable skills in mathematics and science are sought out more than physical demands.