As the years go by humans have naturally advanced in all areas, particularly technology. It could be argued that technology has advanced more in the last 15 years than the 100 years before that. With new strides made by engineers come new ways consumers go about purchasing products and services, changing the landscape of service requirements which business owners need to adhere to. However, the question remains if we are perhaps advancing at too fast a rate, and if there is a possibility that humans will no longer be needed for traditional service roles in years to come?
Movies such as The Terminator and iRobot, although fiction, seem to have instilled a fear that there is a limit we shouldn’t cross when advancing technology. This fear was thrust into the spotlight recently when a robot in a German Volkswagen factory grabbed a worker and crushed him against a metal plate. Fear aside, today’s environment has seen a decline in the need to certain aspects of human assistance. For example, a new trend is emerging in the restaurant world which sees mobile ordering devices on customer’s tables, so instead of giving your order to a waiter you simply send your order through to the kitchen via wireless connectivity. The only job required by the waiter is to bring out the food and beverages and clear the table.
This one example is quite harmless, but the possibilities to implement such methods across all industries is endless. Tellers in grocery stores could diminish as the use of cash starts to become replaced solely by cards or contactless payments. Payments are becoming easier to make as companies such as Apple are introducing contactless payments. Just hold your phone up to a payment scanner and payment is made. It’s as easy as that. Even easier are payment wrist bands, which you can scan without even having to go into your pocket.
Google has developed a system whereby a car can drive unassisted, using GPS and sensors. When you mix this vision with contactless payments public transport could soon function without the assistance of drivers or conductors.
Although we fear what could one day become an age of machines we also are assisting with its possibility. The more we exclude human interaction from our daily lives through self-service the more of a recluse existence we become. We are now more content to send communication through text message or Whatsapp than pick up the phone to make a call. Meetings are more easily organised through Skype. People can buy all their necessities online, eliminating the need to go into a store and interact with a shop assistant.
Many age old activities are now done without the need for physical interaction. Where people would get together and play chess they can now do it online. Visiting a casino is no longer needed as one can relax in the comfort of their home and play iPadCasino.com.au with the winnings transferred straight into the gambler’s bank account. Indeed, when you visit a restaurant it is not an uncommon sight to see a table full of patrons browsing their mobile phones instead of enjoying each other’s conversation.
Social networks have also helped us hide behind closed doors. There was a time when it was required people meet physically to catch up on their acquaintances personal lives, and where information was only shared by being in another’s presence. Today we know where people have been on holiday, while we know what they studied and what their children look like without having seen them for 10+ years. USA Today reported at one stage that the feeling of empathy was declining among college students the more they immersed themselves in social media. The report claimed that university students are now 40% less empathetic than they were in the 1980’s.
However, there is the fact that with rising populations come more requirements for job creation, and therefore cutting jobs to accommodate machines isn’t likely anytime soon. The idea of machines replacing humans is futuristic, as are the movies which have used the same theme. But the seeds for a self-service age have been set, and although there is no immediate danger your flight from New York to Los Angeles could one day be entirely auto-piloted.[su_box title=”About Userp.biz” style=”noise” box_color=”#336588″]
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