The digital workplace

There are two sides to the coin when it comes to machines taking over work, and automation is only one side. The other side – and this tends to be overlooked – is that machines can complement people, even as they take over certain tasks. Jobs are made up of a variety of elements that rely on people possessing a number of qualities. One task may require more physical exertion, while another may be more about cognitive skills. One may require repetition, while another requires creativity. The ideal employee possesses, to a greater or lesser degree, all these qualities. The American economist David Autor says that all these different inputs to the work process are equally important when it comes to completing any job successfully. This means that improving one aspect does not necessarily mean a deterioration in others. In fact, the opposite is often the case if the one improvement – say introducing a computer that takes over the number crunching − leads to higher productivity, then as a knock-on effect the economic value of the other tasks also increases. Take, for example, the increased mechanization in construction which has meant that nowadays there are fewer construction workers on building sites. This is not just as a result of the use of machines but is also because builders are now more skilled. Builders with machines – be it cranes, drills or nail guns – are able to complete more work per day than workers without these tools. But because these machines are also able to cause more damage on site there are other qualities – such as the ability to risk assess and a sense of responsibility – that have become more valuable. So, mechanization in the building trade has reduced the number of construction workers needed, but the economic value of individual builders has increased. In general, the rule is that where technology complements the worker, productivity goes up. That means salaries can increase, consumer consumption can rise and over the longer-term employment opportunities grow. 

In this way the new wave of automation can become the harbinger of good news. According to Autor, because the potential of new technology to complement people is less recognized than the potential of technology to take over from people, the effect of the latter is over-estimated and of the former under-estimated. He believes that, despite job polarization and digital Taylorism, semi-skilled work does have a chance to survive and even to increase. Jobs that require technical skills in combination with skills. Currently that is only the case for 37 per cent. The enormous speed with which technology can achieve this shifting of tasks will become a semi-permanent feature. Work will be continuously changing.

Adjiedj Bakas

The New Renaissance, now available via www.bakas.nl