The conversation about automation has increased exponentially as robotics and software innovations have seen a steep rise in the previous 10 years. There are many ways that automation has and will continue to morph the economy for corporations and individuals alike.
However, this increase in human-less resources has begged many, including wealthy businessmen like Andrew Yang, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates to weigh in on the matter. There are concerns about unemployment that spark fear in some, even though the innovations themselves are considered incredible achievements.
The top three reasons, according to a survey by Capterra, for the increase in technology are productivity, outdated technology, and market competition.
As for which industries may or may not be affected by automation more in the coming decade, that is also for debate. But here are some that stand to be affected even more in the coming decade.
Sales
There are a few basic ways in which automation will be incorporated into the market that will potentially affect the sales industry.
Artificial Intelligence, via software and hardware, is expected to replace the need for human resources to operate basic tasks, thus creating less need for humans and allowing the sales team to focus solely on selling products.
Data collection and management tools will help companies predict and plan ahead for needs related to human resources (hiring and/or cutting costs). These tools will assess business trends and keep the companies ahead of the curve.
Sales enablement tools will serve to build a better communication platform with both customers and co-workers that are working as a team on the same projects. This could include marketing, I.T., management, etc.
What this tells us is that automation will utilize data to locate potential buyers even more than the algorithms incorporated currently and that companies plan to more swiftly engage with problems related to lower performance while also being as fast as possible to plan for growth when needed.
Healthcare
Like other fields, healthcare is looking to increase efficiency and productivity. Experts in the medical industry have been noting for several years that software and robotics have an increasing role to play with patient care. Some of the ways this will occur includes:
Intake, outtake, and basic processing will continue to gain technological advances that will lower the human-to-human interface experience within hospitals, pharmacies, and other care centers. The ways in which we already see these beginning to play out are in manufacturing, research and development, and in the finance departments (billing).
Data standardization has long been an issue and many see technology as the key to solving the problem. Global Head for Artificial Intelligence and Automation, John Gikopoulos, says “The biggest problem across the entire healthcare value chain is being able to call the same thing the same name at every stage of the process.”
He continues, “so underlying or diagnosed conditions of a patient, the effect of different treatments – or a lack of treatment – has had in the past and so on,”.
“It drives every decision, from what active agents go into drugs and when to dispense then, through to clinical trials, how long people should be hospitalized and even what impact they may have on the greater public and the healthcare system. And yet, it’s a question that just hasn’t been addressed adequately,” he concludes.
With information coming from everywhere within the medical system, the role of artificial intelligence to focus and standardize that information will be critical.
The role of robotics and machines in your medical care will continue to increase. Particularly with remote accessibility. For example, certain surgeries can already take place via remote control. But this technology will one day include more complicated procedures from experts across the world.
Agriculture
Agriculture businesses of all sizes urgently need to introduce automation and artificial intelligence in the functions and processes. The finances of the industry require it. Farmers are coping with increased costs in labor, high turnover, and economic struggles related to food loss and waste.
The fallout from the pandemic, including Covid-19 outbreaks in processing and packaging plants and the subsequent closures, have exacerbated the problem. At the same time, the price of food has not risen to levels high enough to curb the monetary pains, and this has caused a steep fall in profit margins.
The two biggest areas that technology will be used in the future to stabilize and keep agriculture a competitive endeavor are factory/plant and meat/protein procedures. Already, robotics and artificial intelligence play a role, but farmers look to innovations of the future to make better equipment, speed up the work, and help farmers expand what types of food processes can be managed via technology as opposed to people.
The Overall Concerns Still Apply
With more and more industries jumping onto the AI bandwagon, it doesn’t alleviate the fears of many in the working class, nor many business owners who see a lack of human employees as a critical failure in growth.
If unemployment rises sharply in the next decade due to the increase of automation and AI, what will be the domino effect? If only certain industries can make room for the population, how does that affect the overall balance of the marketplace?
Andrew Yang states, “Automation is no longer just a problem for those working in manufacturing. Physical labor was replaced by robots; mental labor is going to be replaced by AI and software.”
Elon Musk, while addressing the National Governors Association, stated, “Robots will be able to do everything better than us. I am not sure exactly what to do about this. This is really the scariest problem to me.”
It’s yet to be seen if automation becomes the menace that Yang and Musk perceive it will become. But whether you are hopeful or concerned about the future of automation, there can be no doubt that AI innovations will continue to shape the way we work and operate as a capitalist society for many years to come.
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