Ethics of Automation Technology

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Philosophy

Document 1

Automation technology is not made by one business to solve its problems, it is capable to be used in various industries like transporting, providing utilities like gas, water, and electricity. This paper concentrates on the ethics of automation by explaining the extends automation can reach in future. Automation is a technology that is being used currently hence there is no chance of stopping it now other than controlling it to ensure it does not lead people or companies to break the law, be unethical or start wars using automated weapons. Background Information / How Will Automation Kill Many Jobs in The Future? Automation effect on employment has the same character as other current issues, it is not really a new issue, but it is a pressing issue because its grown is rapid now.

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Human beings were warned many years ago about the effect of automation of machines in employment opportunities many years ago but most of them ignored it. Mining companies are using tunnel boring systems, automated loaders and are testing long-distance trucks and trains to carry materials from one point to another, eliminating workers who perform these tasks. Automated vehicle technology is currently being used in various cities and in the future all vehicles will be driving themselves eliminating the need for drivers. These vehicles will threaten almost 2-3 million jobs in United States alone. Services like Uber will be offered by automated vehicles and computers to collect orders. In fact, this will be an advantage to humanity because the roads will be safer with automated vehicles (Squire, 2010).

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The problem comes when these new jobs are not enough for all employees who lost their jobs, it is always a challenge to governments on how to reskill those negatively impacted or ensuring they are earning. People should be aware that technology is never reaching its final evolution stage anytime soon hence they be ready to adapt to new the challenges technology brings. Is It Ethical for Employers to Lay Down Workers and Replace them with Effective Robots? The work of employers is leading a company or an organization towards achieving its goals. When robots are the best solution to ensure that the company achieves its goals it is ethical for them to lay down employees and embrace robots. Human Need Not Apply Video presenter insisted that, human labor is less reliable when compared to robots’ labor simply because robots do not make mistakes.

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To prepare human beings should start by asking themselves what jobs cannot be done by robots and they start training themselves to be perfect in doing these jobs so that they have a shifting option when robots take their current jobs (Schleicher, 2012). This will be a better way to prepare when one is sure that he or she will lose the current job. People should also prepare by learning how to work alongside robots and other automated machines. For the future generation, a different form of education is needed to ensure they are trained and skilled for jobs that are available and not those that are done or will be done by robots in the future. The problem with this kind of preparation is whether the new education can outpace the rate automation is growing.

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Automated machines are fast because they do not need to think, and they do not get tired hence there is not stopping production to change the workforce or let them rest. Production can be done 24/7 hence increasing the final output compared to when using human labor (Brush, 2011). Large production volumes make companies experience more profits because they deliver more to the markets and it also adds the advantage of increasing customer satisfaction through just-in-time deliveries. Some works although they help human beings earn their income and support their families they are very dangerous and when these works are done by automated machines it increases safety. Automated machines are accurate and are programmed to perform various tasks repeatedly. Automated machines are run using various forms of power like chemicals, electricity or gas.

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This means that demand for gas, electricity, and chemicals to run these machines will increase hence increasing pollution in the workplace (Acemoglu et al. Will Automation Make College Degrees Less Important? Colleges will still be important in the future no matter how technology will advance because although some courses may be removed from the college syllabus other courses will be there. Some jobs are safe and will continue to be safe from technology and colleges will be needed to train students how to do these jobs. Other skills learned in college like interpersonal skills learned through interacting and living with other students will continue being important (Gibson et al. Technology can be controlled when it threatens the lives of human beings or when it threatens the environment.

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Robots abilities should be controlled such that they do not do activities or make decisions on matters concerning human lives. For instance, robots used in hospitals should not decide when to carry out euthanasia. Robots could also be used in the military as weapons hence the government should also control the power these robots are given. They should not be allowed to start wars without supervising human decisions (Sandhu, 2013). The use of artificial intelligence to kill people threatens human life dignity. An international bad is needed to control this type of technology that risks human existence, it has worked on other deadly weapons like biological and nuclear weapons in the past. This ban will limit arms companies from producing or develop automated arms that are better at killing people.

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Instead, another engineering strategy can be used to make the weapons less threatening to human life, for instance, they can be programmed to capture those who break the law rather than killing them. This can direct this technology to a less harmful direction and limit the malicious people who could use automated weapons in the wrong way. Human beings should prepare for a world with no jobs at all meaning there are no means of income for many hence a means of sharing the wealth in the world is needed. Automation is very crucial because it makes work easier and faster, but it affects human beings negatively if it kills jobs without creating new jobs and if it accelerates environment pollution.

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Supposed I was the one to make the decision about automation and government control I could ban automation in military forces and let the other automation be run by the market. Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and when robots get better than us they may decide of overthrowing human beings because they do not need us, but we need them. Bibliography Acemoglu, Daron, and Pascual Restrepo. " In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, pp. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 2011. Human Need Not Apply Video - https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU Ivanov, S. " Human factors49, no. Miller, Claire Cain. "The long-term jobs killer is not China. It’s automation. " The New York Times 21 (2016).

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