Does the Future of Smart Devices Market Pose a Threat to Mankind?

More than half a century ago, Kurt Vonnegut described how life would change, and not for the better, with automation taking over manual work processes. His book “Player Piano” foresaw the impact of automation and development of smart devices on the world and stated that it would render a large workforce jobless and useless. Meanwhile, the techno-enthusiasts and technology experts still went on to design self-driving vehicles, self-flying killing machines, and artificial intelligence that seems to be performing at par with the human mind. The smart machines are developing at an unstoppable pace and a clear example of it is the leap of high-end computing devices from desktops to our pockets.

Although these machines have made life easy and it is only tempting to make them do more while we sit back, order around, and get the job done, voices about the potential risks associated with smart machines are only getting louder. It is in this milieu that the global smart machines market’s future will be shaped.

Q. How will smart machines change the future of human resource?

A. According to a research report published by Transparency Market Research, the smart machine era will experience a growth spurt by 2020 as a large number of people are expected to adopt technologies such as smart advisers, personal assistants, and technically advanced industrial systems. The technological advancements in speech recognition technologies, artificial intelligence, and ability to teach machines in order to create high-level automation techniques are poised to form an intelligent robotic workforce in lieu of the human workforce, thereby eliminating room for human error to create seamless work processes.

Q. How will smart machines change lives?

A. From smartwatches to augmented reality glasses the future of smart machines is left to limitless imaginations of engineers and designers. Digital technologies are changing lives one step at a time but at an accelerated pace. These systems are trained to work in tandem with artificial intelligence that learns algorithms to solve day-to-day problems without human intervention. Researchers predict that these disruptions in the world of IT will change our lives in several ways, boosting economies, and truly changing the healthcare sector. Surgeons are already using robots to perform keyhole surgeries for operating with precision and accuracy. The day we have wearable physicians on our wrists won’t be too far at this rate. 

Q. What potential losses could companies in the smart machines market face?

A. Today, the unthinkable thinking machines are no longer a work of literary science fiction, but a reality that’s much closer to home than we think. Though the advancements in technology are leading to incredible products and services, they are also taking a toll on the human workforce by replacing them.

According to a survey conducted by The Associated Press, 1.1 million secretarial jobs were rendered useless in the United States between 2000 and 2010 as employers and bosses were able to manage their meetings and travels by simplified software solutions. Glaring Labor Department Statistics indicate that 64% of the telephone operators dropped in the same time frame along with 63% of word processors and typists, 46% of travel agents, and 26% of bookkeepers.

The rate of progress in the global smart machines market is set to increase dramatically as huge investments are being pumped into research and development. Knowledge-intensive industries, such as healthcare or legal services, will have to work towards reaching out to the masses in reduced time and with efficiency, instead of operating in set physical buildings and conventional setups to retain a competitive edge.

Experts at Transparency Market Research believe that though smart devices will be able to perform incredible jobs, replacing skilled labor, the only way of defeating Vonnegut’s prediction is by managing smart machines to free us from glitches of current technology and errors of manual labor, instead of letting them enslave us.