IMPACT OF AI AND ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGIES ON THE JOB MARKET 2

Impact of AI and Robotics Technologies on the Job Market
For a few decades, humanity has been enjoying the benefits of technological
advancement without realizing the risks that they can pose. A case in point is artificial
intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies. While they reduce costs and increase inefficiency,
they also have the potential to cause significant negative disruptions to the job market. While it is
certain that these technologies will lead to job losses, the extend of these losses remains unclear.
There are fears that they may cause mass unemployment with even seemingly safe jobs in fields
such as law and medicine under threat (Sinclair, 2017). Others hold that these fears of mass
unemployment are unfounded. While some jobs will be lost, AI and robotic technologies will
lead to creation of other new jobs (UN, 2017). Thus, their real impact is likely to be shifting
demand from one set of jobs to another one rather than causing mass unemployment (UN, 2017).
Moreover, just because a job can be replaced by these technologies does not mean that it is
actually going to be replaced (UN, 2017). So, it is likely that the impact of AI and robotics
technologies will be mild (UN, 2017). Regardless of the severity of their impact, it is important
for policymakers and business leaders to prepare for the coming age of AI and robotics. Already
business leaders such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have discussed the proposal to have
Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a way of cushioning against the effects of large scale
unemployment should AI and robotics have such an impact. These and other proposals should be
carefully considered in order to deal with any negative effects of adoption of these technologies
on the job market.

IMPACT OF AI AND ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGIES ON THE JOB MARKET 3

References

Sinclair, C. (2017, August 04). The threat of AI in the workplace. MS&E 238 Blog. Retrieved
from https://mse238blog.stanford.edu/2017/08/cas123/the-threat-of-ai-in-the-workplace/
Will robots and AI cause mass unemployment? Not necessarily, but they do bring other threats.
(2017, September 13). United Nations. Retrieved from
https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/policy/will-robots-and-ai-cause-mass-
unemployment-not-necessarily-but-they-do-bring-other-threats.html