The old fear of the end of new work itself
Proclamations of the end of work are increasing again with the latest technological advances. While in the echoes of the first great wave of computerization it was Jeremy Rifkin (The End of Work, 1995), it is now Daniel Susskind (A world without Work, 2020) who examines the impact of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) on the world of work and, pushes the sales figures of his new book up with this well-established paranoia. While it was previously assumed that only routine and supposedly low-skilled jobs would be impacted by automation, Susskind believes that the self-learning algorithms of the new generation of AI (keyword: deep learning) are already vastly superior to us in most cognitive skills and will inevitably replace most highly skilled jobs sooner or later.
Automated facial recognition, radiological reports, the diagnosis of skin cancer, etc. The list of already implemented applications of modern AI is growing and the fear of losing one’s job is too. If you want to see for yourself, the ‘Job-Futuromat’ of the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB), an institution of the Federal Employment Office, is recommended. Simply enter your own profession and the machine (in this case based on conventional intelligent algorithms) calculates to what extent you can be substituted by technological solutions.
What is usually concealed in the new hype about digitalization is that the fear of automation and the end of work is a much older topos. For instance, the educational short film ‘The fear of Automation’ (temporarily not available) from 1966 had already dealt with the fear of the potential of punch-card computers and automation that emerged in the 1950s to outpace us. The two core counter-arguments, still relevant today, were also already demonstrated in this film. Firstly, automation would always result in more although different work and secondly, in the event of an emergency, there is still always a solution, namely: Pulling the plug!
Further examples of the “conspicuous persistence of the arguments” in the debate on automation are provided by the historian Martina Hessler (2016), who for her part refers to the educational film ‘This is Automation’ made by the company General Electric in 1955 and thus provides the reference for the fear of automation.
References:
Hessler, Martina (2016). Zur Persistenz der Argumente im Automatisierungsprozess, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 66. Jahrgang, 18–19/2016, S. 17–24.
Rifkin, Jeremy (1995). The End of Work, Putnam Publishing Group.
Susskind, Daniel (2020). A world without work, Allen Lane Publisher.
Job-Futoromat of the IAB, https://job-futuromat.iab.de/
This is Automation, General Electrics, USA 1955, 29min
Fear of Computer Automation?, USA 1966," (3min), temporarily not available
Fear of Computer Automation, 1966, Still
The old fear of the end of new work itself
Proclamations of the end of work are increasing again with the latest technological advances. While in the echoes of the first great wave of computerization it was Jeremy Rifkin (The End of Work, 1995), it is now Daniel Susskind (A world without Work, 2020) who examines the impact of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) on the world of work and, pushes the sales figures of his new book up with this well-established paranoia. While it was previously assumed that only routine and supposedly low-skilled jobs would be impacted by automation, Susskind believes that the self-learning algorithms of the new generation of AI (keyword: deep learning) are already vastly superior to us in most cognitive skills and will inevitably replace most highly skilled jobs sooner or later.
Automated facial recognition, radiological reports, the diagnosis of skin cancer, etc. The list of already implemented applications of modern AI is growing and the fear of losing one’s job is too. If you want to see for yourself, the ‘Job-Futuromat’ of the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB), an institution of the Federal Employment Office, is recommended. Simply enter your own profession and the machine (in this case based on conventional intelligent algorithms) calculates to what extent you can be substituted by technological solutions.
What is usually concealed in the new hype about digitalization is that the fear of automation and the end of work is a much older topos. For instance, the educational short film ‘The fear of Automation’ (temporarily not available) from 1966 had already dealt with the fear of the potential of punch-card computers and automation that emerged in the 1950s to outpace us. The two core counter-arguments, still relevant today, were also already demonstrated in this film. Firstly, automation would always result in more although different work and secondly, in the event of an emergency, there is still always a solution, namely: Pulling the plug!
Further examples of the “conspicuous persistence of the arguments” in the debate on automation are provided by the historian Martina Hessler (2016), who for her part refers to the educational film ‘This is Automation’ made by the company General Electric in 1955 and thus provides the reference for the fear of automation.
References:
Hessler, Martina (2016). Zur Persistenz der Argumente im Automatisierungsprozess, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 66. Jahrgang, 18–19/2016, S. 17–24.
Rifkin, Jeremy (1995). The End of Work, Putnam Publishing Group.
Susskind, Daniel (2020). A world without work, Allen Lane Publisher.
Job-Futoromat of the IAB, https://job-futuromat.iab.de/
This is Automation, General Electrics, USA 1955, 29min
Fear of Computer Automation?, USA 1966," (3min), temporarily not available
Fear of Computer Automation, 1966, Still
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