I wonder how long it will be before humans are completely taken over by technology and rendered obsolete. It’s not an idle question. Take a look at all the occupations that have shuttered their doors and gone out of business.
The first thing that comes to mind is the medical field. We used to see zillions of doctors in private practice. No more. Now we see them being offered a truckload of money to sell their practice to hospitals and go to work for them.
It’s very tempting for doctors. They won’t have to worry about meeting payroll or providing benefits packages to their employees because they will be part of a larger network that handles those things. They won’t have to deal with insurance companies or be required to pay exorbitant malpractice fees because they will be covered under the umbrella of the hospital they’re working for, and they will have a steady income and have more time to deal with their patients. Whether patients will be able to afford the higher fees is anyone’s guess.
And what about all the professions that are being replaced by Google? Right now, if I want legal advice in another state, I just have to go to Google, type in the state, and a lot of sites come up offering free legal advice by real lawyers.
The same is true for any other profession that involves online advice or just good, reliable information. Go to Google and you can find almost any kind of information without having to pay a cent. I went to Google and typed in the Mayo Clinic and got all sorts of medical information, free of charge.
If I want to read a book, I can go to the library or go to Kindle and download thousands of free books every day. I can even lend a book that I’ve bought, even the free books, to family and friends, and all of them can read my books for free.
The most alarming thing that I read is the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the thousands of jobs and careers that are disappearing. Working for the post office used to be a very secure position but now the projections are that mail carriers and sorters will be replaced by technology.
Whatever I looked at, I kept seeing projected estimates of the thousands of people whose careers will become obsolete within the next five years. The statistics show that technology is making it easier for jobs to be done more efficiently by better equipment and by eliminating many of the brick and mortar buildings and factories that are now in existence.
Little by little, humans are being replaced by technology. The question now is who is going to have the money to buy the newest and greatest gadgets that are being invented or designed if millions of people are unemployed?
Connie H. Deutsch is an internationally known business consultant and personal advisor who has a keen understanding of human nature and is a natural problem-solver.