This is the first posting in my blog investigating technological unemployment.
But first a little about me so you know where I am coming from;
I have worked within the information technology industry for over 25 years, supporting Financial, Media, Communications, Pharmaceutical, Oil and Consulting industries as well as Governmental bodies.
I was born in 1970, so I first encountered technology by playing basic electronic games in the late 70’s and started programming computers (Machine code), by the mid 80’s.
In that time, I have seen computers and software change in the same way that robotics has changed, advancing in speed, complexity, capacity and ability.
Like some of my readers, I have seen robots take over production lines (cars and trucks are prime examples here). However, they are not the types we see in films – for example ‘the Terminator’ and ‘I Robot’, that give a fantasised version of what may come – but instead are stationary robots that are programmed to repetitively complete the same tasks accurately and within a controlled space.
But Robotics, is not what this blog is about, there are many of those already.
And now, at the age of 50, I am finishing an MSc in Business Innovation and International Technology Management with my final year thesis, investigating Technological Unemployment.
The thesis dissertation I hope will add some understanding to the term technological unemployment, briefly observing the historical evidence linking technological advancement and unemployment, and how technologies used within the work place (specifically white collar and/or office environments), may change that environment.
The research will focus on the changes to particular job roles (person-centred tasks being replaced by technological solutions), and the creation of new jobs, as technologies are introduced to the work place.
This blog and my research are about how computers and analytics, AI and machine learning (and yes, they are different), have and will possibly change the office environment, and the tasks that office workers complete as part of their jobs.
And this is where you my readers come in,
Correct me if I am wrong, but most people view Technological Unemployment purely as a side effect of Robotics, but how many people have had the tasks they perform change because of the computer software?
What is your perception of the technological changes in the work place?
Do they make your life easier, harder or more boring, more creative?
Do they save you time and help you? Or leave you feeling redundant and frustrated?
Please feel free to post your views…… this qualitative aspect of my research feels to me a central and vital component in understanding our evolving working spaces and the impacts this has on us as workers….
