The emergence of technology took most people by surprise especially the uneducated. Before this parent era of technology it has always been a game of numbers in the labour market. We humans had so much pride in the fact that our skill set will definitely be the reason people in need of it we seek us out but things changed, I bet they never saw it coming. Imagine being a camera man in a broadcast industry, depending on the kind of shots that will be taken either outdoor or indoor broadcasting this will determine the numbers of camera men that will be on set. Knowing that numbers are needed in order for the show to be successfully especially outdoor recording like television documentaries. An average camera man will definitely feel proud as usual, this will give him an upper hand while bargaining for the prize of his service.
The pressure to reduce the cost of his service is never a constant one but then suddenly we now have devices such as drones which is capable of reducing human labour by 65%. The integration of drone usage in broadcasting is also a product of robotics technology in their aim to create effective tools to ease the struggle of camera coverage. Now rewind for a sec to being in the shoes of that same camera man whose source of pride is the confidence he has in the contribution of human Labour necessary to get the job done. Being aware of the new technology in broadcasting called drone, at the back of his mind he already knows he lost his bargaining power. Instead of being able to negotiate, now he has to beg to have a spot on the show knowing fully well the capabilities of a drone usage which is capable of taking all kind of shots from different angles except enclosed CS {Close shot}.
This is not just applicable to the broadcast industry, in manufacturing industries who solely survive on human resources now have the option of going for an alternative that is capable of reducing human labour with the advantage of having less to pay workers of such company. But then apart from reducing the amount a company spend on paying workers for the service rendered, looking at the usage of robots in manufacturing firm you would realise Arguably they are more effective than humans. I mean humans are prone to error, occasionally we find it difficult to do as we are told despite being paid for the service we render, we always feel the need to rest which is normal because we are not machines, we have a limited working hours, I mean how many humans can work day and night for weeks without resting and lastly we are prone to factory accidents or sickness.
Evaluating the short comings of humans in manufacturing industry, a company with the right amount of resources would not mind substituting human labour for robotics services. Anyone with an experience of how things are done in manufacturing industries would agree that it is the logical thing to do but what about the implications it has on humans when a robot is capable of doing the task meant for at least 5-10 humans, then what happens to those who were once occupying that space. As productive as the integration of robotics technology is in different sector of the society, it is still one of the major contributor to the decline in the need of human labour resulting to massive rate of unemployment.
How does this affect my profession?
Currently I wouldn't say I have a job since I still belong to the category of being a student but I do offer some services which includes research project writing among many other services I render. I pointed out this particular service because it seems to be the only one affected by the emergence of AI. During the olding days when students are asked to undergo a research project, it wasn't easy due to unavailability of resources but the data gathered and explanations were a product of students intelligence.
Nowadays the case is different, when I was in school we are all aware of the usage of AI in carrying out research work, especially using it to create speculative data from assumption of what it should be. Not trying to look down on Nigeria educational system but truth be told majority of our lecturers are yet to catch up on the usage of AI in generating research project content, they have little or no knowledge of how to run AI check on project materials submitted by students. Probably they would have found out if they took the time to go through the research project material but only a little fraction of lecturers does that, as long as the material is full with reference {either fake or original} and or the steps are listed, the research project is good to go.
I remember the day of my project defence, I was trying to explain my sample size technique which determines how I arrived at the numbers of respondents I will be distributing questionnaire to, explaining the statistical results of using krejcie and morgan formula, my project defence coordinator was just looking at me like a mirror. My project defence went well but I can't help but feel disappointed for preparing too much for it, this has made a lot of students more confident about using AI to generate research project materials especially conceptual analysis and empirical review.
Which means students no longer feel the need to reach out to people like me for research project consultation services.
How do I intend to cope with this new development?
Like I said I'm into a lot of stuff, which includes livestock raring and occasionally farming. We have seen cases of robots being used in some strands of farming but it only involves processing of farm products from raw materials into finished goods but when it comes to some sensitive aspect of farming Which involves using of farmers intuition to make decisions about the outcome of farm Crops and also taking care of livestock by forming bonds, I bet a robot wouldn't be able to that.
Well AI could offer any form of knowledge about farming but when it comes to the practical aspects of it, farmers intuition and experience is still required. There is no doubt that we have machineries used for farming which had also reduced labour but not all kind of farming machines can be used for, most especially try using robots to harvest farm crops and also rare livestock animals.
Which means despite the integration of AI and robotics technology taking over most professional career there is still something I can fall back into without being pressured.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Can a robot do it better" in hive learners community.
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