Technology 5 min read

Automation: 9 Things you Still do Better Than a Machine

Automation: 9 Things you Still do Better Than a Machine

Here we compare human and AI efficiencies with certain abilities and tasks. Workplace automation worries many, but many others argue that AI is here to help rather than replace. 

Edgy Labs brings you 9 things #humans do better than #machines #automation.Click To Tweet

4 Areas Where Humans Remain More Efficient Than Automation Robots

Humans have a natural advantage over automation machines regarding emotions, creativity, as well as logical reasoning.

AI is still struggling to interact effectively with the world around it, which prevents them from realizing peripheral, simple tasks that would be fulfilled without direction by any human worker. Automation of all economic sectors drives humans to expand their role with innovation and creativity.

1. Generating Novel Patterns/Categories

The ability to create and recognize new patterns and/or categories.

2. Problem Solving/ Logical Reasoning

Using contextual information to solve problems in an organized fashion.

3. Creativity

The ability to create efficient and diverse new ideas.

4. Coordination Between Multiple Agents

Interacting with others (including humans) to complete objectives.

automation
McKinsey Global Institute analysis

5 Areas Where Robots are as Skillful as Humans

Speed, accuracy, and endurance are some of the advantages that robots have. One robot can carry out a task that would require the efforts of a group of people without getting tired, overwhelmed or losing focus. Robots’ ability to learn–processing incredible amounts of data that no human can do so fast, if at all–enables them to acquire skills that until recently were thought to be defining traits of human beings.

1. Natural Language Processing

Natural language generation and understanding.

2. Identifying Social And Emotional States

As a part of social and emotional capabilities.

3. Reacting To Social And Emotional States

As a part of social and emotional capabilities.

4. Displaying Social And Emotional States

As a part of social and emotional capabilities.

5. Moving Around Diverse Environments

As a part of ones physical capabilities.

automation
McKinsey Global Institute analysis

Fears of Automation: Robotic Proletariat

Fearing the emergence of a new kind of a “proletariat” (working class robots) is not that far-fetched. As humans drive the improvement in AI automation capabilities, AI will continue to improve.

The McKinsey Global Institute made a diagnosis of the current state of the work world and its future. The report “Technology, Jobs, And The Future Of Work” points out that development of automation, made possible by new technologies (robotics, artificial intelligence), promises greater productivity. Yet, it also highlights the question of their impact on employment, skills and the very nature of work.

The institute examined more than 2,000 tasks in 54 countries and found that less than 5% of current jobs could be automated, and for medium-skilled jobs, the estimate goes up to 20%. Based on today’s technologies, at least 30% of tasks and 60% of all jobs are technically automatable.

Automation in industrial sectors is already happening, especially since these robots are invading areas in which we thought we are more skillful. Shortly, more affordable and increasingly efficient and versatile robots would take over the majority of tasks performed today by humans.

According to a study by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne, “The Future Of Employment,” robots will take almost half (47%) of US jobs in the next two decades.

Tech Giants are Transforming the Employment Landscape

Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and other tech behemoths strive to endow robots with superhuman faculties and intelligence. This raises concerns about automation as competition rather than cooperation.

Speaking at the Davos World Economic Forum–which brought together several technology leaders to address concerns around the world of artificial intelligence–Satya Nadella thinks Microsoft and other players should divert their efforts from AI applications intended to replace individuals.

“Our responsibility is to have the AI augment the human ingenuity and augment the human opportunity,” said Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO.

Meg Whitman, HPE’s patron at the Forum, made the case for an optimistic future for workers. She believes that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring significant and positive changes in everyday life. While Devin Wenig of eBay believes that AI would destroy jobs, but instead we can make machines work for humans.

Humans still have a major advantage over robots: Social and interpersonal skills give human workers an edge over their artificial counterparts. Robots cannot understand a human as well as another human, and their abilities to simulate human interactions are still very modest, which limits their capacities within the workforce.

Creativity, interpersonal relationships, and social skills remain unique to humans. Individuals with the most creative and entrepreneurial skills will survive. Companies with the best technologies will flourish, but it takes humans to develop and improve technology in the first place.

Edgy Labs Readers: We feel strongly that automation is inevitable. Yet, we also believe that instead of replacing jobs, automation allows us to focus on more specialized pursuits. In other words, automation is a part of human evolution, rather than its replacement. 

What do you think, dear reader? Is your job in danger of being automated? 

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Zayan Guedim

Trilingual poet, investigative journalist, and novelist. Zed loves tackling the big existential questions and all-things quantum.

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