Every few decades, some professions disappear due to the development of technology, and the younger generations often have no idea what such jobs involved. Such a change awaits us again in the coming years, when many routine activities will be handled by robots, due to which millions of people will lose their jobs.
Telephone switchboard service workers, lunchladies or signalists, stokers and railroad shunters. These are some of the professions that were quite common in the second half of the last century. And today? Who of you remembers that railroad switches used to be shifted by hand, and there was a dedicated worker at each station? Few of the younger generations.
However, many of today's employees can't feel safe about their jobs either because of the increasingly rapid development of robotics and artificial intelligence. For example, this year's report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says that up to 14% of jobs will be lost for this reason within 20 years. In the Czech Republic alone, up to two million people will lose their jobs in the coming years, according to an analysis by Deloitte and economist David Marek.
Prodej investičního bytu s předzahrádkou, Praha 6
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Most of them will retrain or find another profession, some will retire straight away and, unfortunately, others will end up in the labor office. Even today, according to the office's statistics, dozens of people who used to work as lunchladies, typists, operators of public toilets, horizontal bar opertors or brakemen are looking for a job. But their professions no longer exist.
So who should start worrying about their job?
Animal breeders and farmers
Automated lines that will supply farm animals with food and take care of their needs are being built in many places around the world. For example, fully automatic milking of cows is now a common reality even in the Czech Republic, hen breeding is also largely automated and self-service harvesters without drivers, which don't need any assistance to harvest crops, are being tested. The way things are going, we might see large farms with a single employee overseeing everything as soon as in this century.
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O dobytek se postarají roboti.Source: Pixabay
Shopkeepers
You might recall a scene from Return to the Future where the lead character Marty' walks into a café, where he is served by a digital Michael Jackson or Ronald Reagan. Such bars without human service are already a reality in many places. And hypermarkets such as Tesco or Globus started to introduce technologies that allow you to shop without assistance and cash registers. And yes, even the self-service checkouts will soon be quite outdated, and there will be no need for shopkeepers of any kind.
Drivers and train operators
Autonomous and self-driving cars are being tested not only by Google, Tesla and Uber, but also by many traditional car manufacturers. While previously unimaginable, flawless cameras and powerful computers can drive a car without problems nowadays. In many cities, the subway already operates without drivers; by the way, the upcoming D line in Prague is planned to run this way. And in Germany, autonomous trucks for transporting goods have been in the process of testing since June. It is almost inevitable that millions of drivers will lose their jobs in the following decades.
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Metro na trase D v Praze se bude zřejmě řídit samo.Source: Pixabay
Journalists
Artificial intelligence is already able to write a brief article about a sports match or stock market results, and the average reader has no chance of knowing that it wasn't written by a human. Even the Czech newsagency CTK is currently working on the development of intelligent journalism technology, which would be able to "spew" articles faster, with more accuracy and, above all, it would be cheaper. While journalists will still be required for writing more demanding analytical texts or shooting interviews and reports in the field for a long time, some of the people in charge of undemanding articles will soon lose their jobs.
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Novináře čekají krušné časy.Source: Pixabay
Workers in car factories
Several automobile production lines in Germany are already fully automated. Everything is being self-assembled, varnished or sprayed, and the robotic arms intelligently put together all parts or accessories of individual equipment on customer's request. Everything is being overseen by groups of educated supervisors and experts in robotics. It can be expected that in a few years this will spread throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic.
Clerks and personal bankers
You will soon be able to handle your routine bank dealings or office requests with a digital assistant or via the Internet, through automated web portals. You may already have a new ID card with a chip - yes, this will allow you to communicate with the authorities remotely. The end of queues at the counters is near, and the clerks sitting behind them will have to look for a different job.
