For as far back as we began our professional careers, we have been told that technological advances will eliminate so many jobs that there would be major unemployment issues to deal with. Despite significant advances, these dire predictions have not materialized.
We are hearing the same grim warnings today. Are we to ignore them, because new fields and employment opportunities always accompany technological changes? Some say the number of jobs is unlimited because human wants are unlimited.
Or is something different happening? Does the pace of automation and the job-killing potential of new technological advances, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, give us special cause for concern? Is technology destroying jobs faster than itâs creating them? And if so, what is to be done?
Who will be most impacted by technological advances that eliminate jobs: low-skilled or high-skilled workers? Will the jobs of well-educated professionals be seriously affected as computers learn to âthinkâ, thus possibly hollowing out the middle class?
We are told that there will be abundant new employment opportunities in such fields as health care, education, technology and leisure. Will these new opportunities take up the slack?
Whatever industries stand to benefit, it is certain that working-age adults will need to be trained (and retrained) for the new jobs that will be created. Who will prepare the workforce for the changing job market: high schools, colleges, trade schools, employers?
Perhaps natural adjustments to the size of our workforce, such as the countryâs birth rate coupled with the intake of immigrants, will ameliorate major unemployment problems. Or perhaps there will be other adjustments, such as the standard âwork weekâ or retirement age.
Join us and share your thoughts on this thought-provoking subject.
The following articles provide some perspective on this issue:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/02/automation-will-kill-1-million-jobs-by-2026-what-we-need-to-do-commentary.html
https://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2018/02/21/will-automation-kill-our-jobs-n2451190
http://theinstitute.ieee.org/ieee-roundup/blogs/blog/will-automation-kill-or-create-jobs
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/20/robots-are-not-destroying-jobs-but-they-are-hollow-out-the-middle-class
Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Time: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
Location: WeWork, 1460 Broadway (entrance is on 41st street), Conf Rm 14A, New York, NY 10036 (Must bring your picture ID to enter the building)
Price: FREE – RSVP Required (HBS Alums only; No Guests)
Organizer: Herb Kaplan MBA 1965
1460 Broadway, Conf Rm 14A , New York, NY, 10036