rise-of-the-robots

Fear the robots—they are coming after you and your livelihood!

This insightful book from a Silicon Valley executive presents a compelling argument that "a great many college-educated, white-collar workers are going to discover that their jobs, too, [not just factory jobs] are squarely in the sights of software automation."

"The upshot of this is that more education and skills will not necessarily offer effective protection against job automation in the future.  Entry-level jobs, in particular, are likely to be heavily affected."

We don't think of ATMs and self-service checkout machines as robots.  Nor do we think about the Redbox machine that has replaced the Blockbuster worker.  These are just a few tangible examples of robots replacing entry-level workers.  Many more applications are on the way.

As jobs get vaporized during an economic downturn, companies realize that they can operate successfully without rehiring workers once a recovery gets under way due to ever-advancing information technology.  Every new worker a business hires adds a whole slew of peripheral costs.  Robots will become an increasingly attractive alternative to human workers as they become more flexible and easier to train for new tasks.

This trend is contributing to the creation of a hollowed-out middle class.  The result is job market polarization: an hour-glass shaped job market where workers are unable to land one of the desirable jobs at the top, middle management jobs disappear in an effort flatten the organization, and remaining workers compete for jobs at the bottom.  And it is these low-end jobs that are most likely to become automated.

The most challenging aspect of this book is the author's conclusion that the most effective solution to the worker automation challenge is likely to be some form of basic income guarantee (i.e. insurance against adversity).  This overhaul of the economic safety net would provide a replacement to less effective mechanisms, such as, the minimum wage, food stamps, welfare and housing assistance.  

<strong>Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future</strong> deserves its spot as one of the <strong><a href="https://beantownweb.blogspot.com/2016/01/best-business-books-2015.html" target="_blank">Best Business Books of 2015</a>.</strong>

Access Gene Babon's reviews of books on <strong>Business Leadership</strong> and <strong>Business Strategy</strong> at <strong><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/webapprentices/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>.</strong>