In the wake of the most recent economic downturn, many companies are looking for every opportunity to automate their processes. Robotics, automated systems and other high-tech solutions are being used to reduce labor costs on the factory floor, in warehouse aisles, even in the service industry.
In fact, Starwood Hotel group has recently begun testing a robotic room service attendant at its Aloft Hotel, in Silicon Valley. The “Botler” is a fully-autonomous cyborg that resembles R2D2 from the “Star Wars” movies, but performs its duties more like C-3PO.
Cars, Trucks with No Drivers
Google and several other companies already have developed driver-less cars, which can whisk their passengers to wherever they are going without the need for a human driver. Are driver-less trucks far behind?
Will this increase in the use of robotic workers and automated system mean that the days of the human factory workers and service employees are numbered? No, says Dr. Robert Lee Gordon, associate professor of reverse logistics at American Public University, in Charles Town, West Virginia. In fact the robotics trend is good news for the American worker.
“The bad news is that, in the near future, some logistics jobs will be lost to robots,” Gordon wrote in a guest blog on the website DC Velocity. “However, these will be the relative low skill jobs that could be easily automated. The good news is that other jobs that require more creative intelligence, critical thinking, and management skills will increase. After all, someone will have to be the person building, repairing, traiing and managing the Botler or the self-driving car.”
Education the Best Defense for ‘Outomation’
People who are nervous about being replaced by a robot should calm down, according to Gordon. Although the technology to automate many entry-level jobs in a wide variety of industries already exists, this will simply create new industries and new jobs that will be the exclusive purview of humans, at least for now.
“Robots might be great to have at a party, but they can’t do sales, marketing, finance, customer contact, or management,” Gordon said. “These higher order thinking tasks will become the exclusive domain of skilled and educated personnel with an understanding of how to run an organization.”
Workers who want to make themselves more marketable in the future might consider going back to school right now because education is one of the best defenses against being replaced by a robot.
“Logistics professionals with critical thinking skills and both education and experience will be less vulnerable to automation or ‘outomation’ as I like to call it,” said Gordon. “Successful logistics leaders will also need to hone their social skills because working with people will be evenmor important.”
The Future Is Already Here
The workplace of the near future may be vastly different than it is today, but those who are able to adapt to these changes quickly and efficiently will benefit the most, according to the professor.
“The future of logistics will have more to do with management skills and less to do with routine tasks,” he said. “Long-term career success will require a balance of education, job skills and social skills.”