The Benefits and Challenges of Automation Technology
Automation is one of the buzz worlds that are currently flitting around the business world, as well as our homes. One more task that’s automated makes one more task we don’t have to do ourselves, which can spell out both good and bad things. As automation technology begins to grow and is on its way to being able to drive our cars, it’s important to be aware of both the pros and cons of uses this type of tech, as well as the challenges it can present. There are some big issues people are having to think about, although many haven’t considered them.
Automation Is Making Work Faster and More Accurate
One of the key reasons people have started to use technology to automate various things is that it can speed up many tasks. On top of that, it can also improve accuracy for some things. Automation can be used in all areas to do a variety of tasks. Businesses can take advantage of OCR solutions to make reading and processing documents a lot easier. In your home, you can use a smart thermostat to automate the regulation of the temperature. A machine can be taught to do the same thing in the same way each time, removing human error.
Tech Needs to Start Making “Human” Decisions
On the other hand, technology being unable to make human decisions also puts it at a disadvantage. If a self-driving car crashes because it can’t tell the difference between another car and the sky, that’s not good. People are having to think about some of the ethical questions involved in using automation, and whether it’s possible to teach AI to make ethical decisions. This is difficult to do when even humans can’t always agree on what to do in certain situations, like the famous trolley problem.
Automation Could Save Money
The reason a lot of businesses want to look at ways to automate is that it could save them money. Automation can reduce the amount of time you need to spend doing something and lower the number of people you need to do a job too. However, not all automation solutions are going to be immediately financially beneficial for a business. Some things are too expensive for small businesses to contemplate, and it wouldn’t be worth the investment. It’s often only larger businesses that can save a significant amount of money using expensive automation systems, but there are more affordable options too.
There Are Concerns About Effects on Employment
The effect automation can have on employment is a key concern for many people. While the need for people to create and maintain automation systems could create jobs, it might make other jobs obsolete. Self-driving trucks, for example, might lower the needs for truck drivers if one driver is able to lead a fleet of trucks that can follow using the power of technology alone.
Automation is an interesting topic, but it’s important to recognize that there are some tricky issues to consider. It can do great things but could have some negative effects too.