Many people wonder whether they will lose their jobs due to the major advances in process automation. In my opinion, work is going to undergo a significant transformation that will make many roles obsolete. But I’m optimistic I don’t see a future as bleak as others do; in fact, I think it could be very positive if we know how to manage it.

It’s not the first time that an invention or technological advance has led to a decline in employment; we could even say that it has been a constant throughout history. Since forever, humans have been coming up with ideas to make work simpler, more efficient, and of better quality.

An example to put things in context: many years ago, if one of our ancestors needed to dig a hole, they did it with just their hands. If that hole had to be large and ready in a short amount of time, it required many people to accomplish it. Shortly after, someone ahead of their time analyzed the situation, saw the human toll, and invented the shovel. Suddenly, fewer people were needed to complete the task in the same or even less time.

Later on, another ingenious person felt that the task of digging a hole with a shovel was costly because it still required many people and time, and time was starting to become valuable. So, they invented the excavator. Now, the same task could be done with just one person and in a fraction of the time.

What happened then to the men who were digging by hand and later with a shovel?

They were surely disoriented for a while, but then they adapted their skills to access new job opportunities where they needed to use their intelligence more. Repairing the excavator, for example.

That’s how it has always been, and with process automation, it won’t be any different. The key is to be prepared so that the adaptation period is as short as possible, and this is achieved by identifying the areas where our ingenuity still surpasses automation and by intellectually preparing ourselves to fill those roles that will demand more knowledge.

Soy optimista porque me pregunto: ¿por qué siendo seres tan hábiles deberíamos sentirnos felices o cómodos yendo todos los días a la oficina a ejecutar la misma actividad una y otra vez de manera mecánica? ¿no deberíamos preferir tareas que reten nuestro ingenio y exploten nuestras capacidades intelectuales?

Si la respuesta a la segunda pregunta es sí, podemos estar tranquilos porque eso nos ubica en el grupo que va a encontrar nuevas formas de participar activamente en la vida productiva junto a las automatizaciones, robots o lo que falta por venir.