Robots ceased to be the domain of science fiction long ago and are entering ever more areas. They have been present in workplaces in various forms for decades, but technological progress is increasing their importance. Will dozens of people lose their jobs because of robots? One thing is certain: the daily reality of many professions will change. Robotization in business: what does it change?
There is no denying that robotization in business is accelerating. This applies not only to manufacturing processes but also to customer service, sales, and even strategic planning. Different kinds of robots speed up work considerably. A task that takes a person 10 minutes can often be completed by a robot in 10 seconds. Faster processes improve the efficiency of the entire company. This is not only because robots perform tasks faster: they also enable employees to work better and more efficiently and to achieve their intended goals in less time. There are many examples. Automation using RPA (Robotic Process Automation) can allow employees, for instance, to produce twice as much in the same period. This can substantially reduce a company’s operating costs.
Robots and applications using technologies such as machine learning can replace people in a large number of tasks. Most often, these are tedious and monotonous processes that take considerable time and exhaust the employees who perform them both physically and intellectually. One example is collecting the materials needed to manufacture an item. A specialized robot can prepare a list of required raw materials in seconds, while another can help an employee assemble them. Robots, particularly those using various machine-learning methods or neural networks, can also help developers. They can not only write simple code but also verify code written by a person in substantially less time. In addition, robots using ML can learn from previously completed tasks, potentially increasing their efficiency over time. Automation has also reached customer service, where various chatbots and voicebots capable of resolving many of the most common problems are already widely used. When an issue exceeds their capabilities, they can direct users to specialists, who in turn may use other robots to perform their tasks. Robotization is useful in
HR departments as well: processes such as receiving CVs, arranging training, and handling payroll can be automated. Robots have supported finance in the broad sense for many years. In banks they assess creditworthiness, while companies can use them to measure financial risk. Although robots are used most commonly to automate monotonous and burdensome tasks, they are becoming increasingly prominent in creative industries. Generative AI such as Midjourney and ChatGPT can generate dozens of images in the former case or texts in the latter, although GPT-4 can already work with images as well. They can therefore be used, for example, to plan corporate communications or branding. It is important to remember, however, that they will not fully replace people and should be used mainly as support.
Will robotization eliminate jobs?
The answer to the question above is both yes and no. Robotization can be an opportunity and a threat at the same time. On the one hand, it can substantially accelerate many processes; on the other, continued improvements in robots may remove people from the labor market. A report prepared by experts from the
World Economic Forum in 2020 states that robotization will eliminate 80 million jobs, while 100 million new ones will be created over the same period. This is supported by research commissioned by the
European Commission, which found no effect of robotization on reducing employment in the manufacturing sector. Robotization should be interpreted in the same way as previous technological revolutions. Computers and machines did not remove people from the labor market, although they transformed it considerably. The emergence of the automobile caused many horse-transport occupations to disappear and substantially changed those that remained. Coachmen were sought-after and necessary workers even in the early twentieth century; today, they mainly provide tourist attractions.
How should we prepare for the wave of process robotization?
Robotization is inevitable, but there are many indications that it will not lead to
employees losing their jobs. Robots are merely specialized and advanced tools that someone must operate. For implemented solutions to work as effectively as possible, a company must invest in training the employees who will operate them. The wave of workplace robotization and automation can be treated as an opportunity for career development. Children attending school in 2023 may well work in professions that do not yet exist. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, professions such as influencer, podcaster, and mobile-application developer did not exist. There are many indications that robotization will create new jobs. Employees are not the only ones who must prepare for the wave of robotization; organizations must do so as well, including not only companies but also states and international organizations. For companies, robotization entails a change in their work model and how they operate in the market. For states and international organizations, meanwhile, robotization may have social, legal, and economic consequences for which they must prepare.
Summary: are our jobs at risk?
Will robotization eliminate jobs? There is no unequivocal answer. It undeniably accelerates many different tasks and replaces people in many cases. This may have positive consequences, as people can take on more creative or demanding work, but also negative ones. Companies may decide to reduce employment substantially because robots perform the same work faster and more cheaply and can do so continuously. Will this happen? Here too, it is difficult to give a definitive answer. At present, there are many indications that businesses see robotization as an opportunity for everyone and that introducing robots into the workplace does not lead to layoffs. Bots nevertheless reduce operating costs, and these savings can be invested, as they often are, in employee training. It is also important to remember that company products are bought not by robots but by people, who need jobs and financial resources in order to purchase them. For this reason alone, there is no need to fear that robotization will cause jobs to disappear on a massive scale. It may nevertheless transform the economy considerably, and whether the effects are positive or negative depends entirely on its participants.
