Anyone willing to work at understanding how the newest digital technologies can help improve one’s productivity will not fall victim to increased automation in the digital age. That’s according to Professor Thomas Hayes Davenport from the MIT Centre for Digital Business and author of ‘Only Humans Need Apply: Winners and Losers in the Age of Smart Machines’. “Anyone who is prepared to consider technology more as a colleague than a competitor has a far greater chance of survival in the digital age,” he says.
As we enter what Davenport refers to as the “third era of intelligent machines”, many prominent thinkers, including Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking, have highlighted concerns over the wisdom of placing too much emphasis on AI-based cognitive technologies, in particular, the threat they pose to long-term job security. “It is likely we will see some job losses in the future: perhaps up to 10 percent of those working in areas that can be highly automated will lose out to machine learning,” he says.
However, Davenport believes the trend towards automation will happen quite slowly and so any job losses caused by the current wave of technological advancement will happen over the next decade or so. “The kinds of cognitive technologies currently in existence can only replace tasks, not entire jobs,” he stresses.
Anyone with an appetite for learning should not fear the ramifications of life in the digital age. However, on the contrary, as Davenport notes, those willing to embrace technology through further education will thrive in the age of AI robotics. One of the innovative leaders in current digital technology education is Digital Skills, which has a number of new internationally recognised programmes available. “No industry – from farming to fintech – is immune to the demands presented by the emerging digital economy,” says Paul Dunne, CEO and Founder of Digital Skills. “By adding new digital skills to existing staff in their business, organisations will not only be prepared for the increased levels of machine automation in the workplace but will have a workforce equipped to work alongside machines, helping to drive business growth and achieve significant competitive advantage.”
Digital Skills programmes develop talent with skills that are cutting-edge in the marketplace today. The one year, online and part-time international BSc Degree programmes blend the most in-demand and current coding languages, the creativity of digital design and the innovation and entrepreneurial thinking of digital business. Accredited by Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the programmes are designed to rapidly enhance participants’ career prospects through a combination of online learning and real-world experience working in international cross-functional teams on live industry-assigned projects.
With the advent of increased AI robotics in the workplace, Digital Skills provided a tangible solution for those looking to future-proof and advance their careers in the age of the robots.
