I, Robot (You, Probably Not)

Everybody knows -- the development of AI-powered robots will put most people out of work. Right?

It turns out that everyone may be wrong. At least, so far.

What happens to employees when a company starts using robots? They end up hiring more people, says a recent study from Statistics Canada. I have to admit, I was surprised by this finding.

These companies actually increased their headcount. The change is in the structure of the workforce - more software and engineering people, fewer tradespeople, and fewer managers on the factory floor. The study found that quality, not quantity was the driving force to bring robots there.

Will this trend hold? Perhaps. But I am watching a related trend in car manufacturing that should worry those who think that human beings actually should be working.

When you replace a gasoline engine with an electric one, your workforce will significantly change and your suppliers will have a hard time adjusting.

Why is that? With no engine, no transmission, no muffler, there is almost nothing in that car. It’s just software.

Changing cars from gas guzzlers to environmentally-friendly vehicles will help the environment but it will negatively affect the blue collar workers. Is this the negative side of fighting global warming?

For now, though, the robots have not taken over. Even in this highly technological era, machines may create nearly 60 million more jobs than they displace by 2022. As technology advances, some lose their jobs - but many more go on to do higher-value work, now that the robots are doing the heavy lifting.

... and that's the recurrent pattern.