Will computers replace all employees in the future?
Robots are no longer just supporting actors in science fiction films, but also an integral part of the working world. The buzzword "artificial intelligence in the workplace" is on everyone's lips. Will people soon no longer be in demand as employees?
"Robots and computers could replace one in four workers," wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung five years ago. How is this currently assessed? One of the most frequently discussed topics against the backdrop of digital transformation and rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence are questions about the substitutability of human labor by computers. To what extent will it be necessary to program computers instead of guiding people in the future? At first glance, the developments seem to go in only one direction, and that is steeply in the direction of constant digitization. Artificial intelligence is already capable of creating works of art, composing music or conducting complex dialogues in a chat, not to mention simpler, repetitive work in production or logistics, which is already carried out entirely by computers or robots.
By 2025, the amount of time humans and machines spend on tasks at work will be the same, according to the WEF's "The Future of Jobs Report". Experts estimate that 85 million jobs could be displaced by 2025 due to a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines. At the same time, however, 97 million new roles could emerge that are better adapted to the new division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms.
"In a few decades, we'll have human-level artificial intelligence," says Stuart Russell, who conducts research on the subject at Berkeley. However, he qualifies that some breakthroughs are still needed before then. Of course, this also raises the question of ethics. Should people be allowed to lose their jobs or should it be a priority to preserve them? In principle, it will become increasingly important for employees to acquire additional skills through permanent and targeted further training and thus to stand out from computers.
What's next?
Hiroaki Kitano, head of artificial intelligence research at Sony, takes an optimistic look into the future. Despite short-term disadvantages for employees, he sees a positive benefit in artificial intelligence. In an interview with SRF, he points out that in the future people will "perform more creative and distinctively human tasks".
Professor Dr. Jochen Menges is a researcher at the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work at the University of Zurich. There, multidisciplinary research is being carried out on a more human-centered work of the future in order to create a better working world for people. A panel discussion he moderated with leading researchers on trends for 2023 concludes that new technologies tend to create new and often better jobs. Furthermore, artificial intelligence can support managers in structuring their companies to help employees achieve greater productivity and well-being. In addition, the researchers note that the people, not the technologies, are in charge and that the use of new technologies is the key to producing the best solutions.
According to Professor Menges, looking cautiously optimistically into the future seems to be quite permissible for (human) employees.
Text: Linda Betschart