Human workers becoming obsolete
CAN TECHNOLOGY REPLACE PEOPLE IN THE WORKPLACE?
STORY AND PHOTO BY COLLIN BEREND
Technology is m oving fast. How much
A s college students,
longer u n til artificial in telligen ce w ill
m an y o f us have
be teach in g stud ents? W h ile th is can
w o rk e d a jo b ,
either in the past be scoffed a t, per M oore’ s Law, such
or currently, some technology w ill eventually be so cheap
that 10 AI professors and instructors Could
more than others.
cost a single instructor’ s salary.
Faculty m em bers
W h at jo b s w ill be Safe fro m robot
have lik ely worked
previous jobs as well. But takeover? Jobs that only humans could do,
all of these positions are at potential risk. A computer would be a horrible pick for
football, So those positions w ill be open.
It’ s the year 2017, and we are at the
But what about singing? Sorry, aspiring
crux o f a new generation: not in calendar
years or generation o f offsp ring, but a vocalists, Japan already has you covered.
te ch n o lo g ica l age. A rev o lu tio n . For In Japan, a computer is famous for singing
com p uters, their age o f reason is ju st on stage, w ith an en tirely com puter
generated voice. At concerts, the crowd
around the corner.
is presented with a hologram rather than
For e x a m p le , m ech a n ics or th o se
studying to do auto bodywork could easily a performer. M ichael Jackson and Tupac
be replaced by machines. It wouldn’t take have received a similar treatm ent since
much effort to create a computer capable their deaths.
Acting? For those who haven’t seen or
o f doing repairs; and a m achine would
be faster, more efficient, elim inate sick heard anything on Star Wars: Rogue One,
days and holidays and be available 24/7. It they brought the dead back with computer
generated effects that make it almost hard
would only require, atthe most basic level,
an ability to be aware of the surrounding | to tell the difference. Since Warcraft and
Rogue One came out, inquiry has sprouted
enough to diagnose the situation.
about how this will affect actors who can
just be resurrected or be used with their
faces in a computer database.
Austin Parrish, a Clackamas student and
. vice president of the Science, Technology,
Engineering and M athem atics Club or
STEM , understands w here such fears
come into play. He asserted that this is
also a good th in g and that part o f the
STEM club’s purpose is toencourage being
more open and accepting o f it.
“ They were primarily used by geeks,”
Parrish explained o f using cellphones to
W h ile th is seem s fa rfe tch e d now ,
speak about the rising in technological
consider how far w e’ve com e. We have
advances. “ Now everyone is on their
touch screen phones connected to the
phone.” .
in te rn e t and send in g m essages w ith
“ It is surprising how fa st things are
others in other countries in seconds, ear
pieces that translate almost any language, ch anging,” said Carol DeSau, bookstore
artificial intelligence that works as a desk director. DeSau touched on how she was
receptionist and even com puters that told that, with technology, the bookstore
w rite articles. W e already have s e lf
would eventually be paperless.
For students, these jobs help pay for
checkou t registers, and that w ill only
school; and some rely on it to pay bills,,
improve.
for their kids to eat and be warm. Even
In the 1980s, a car like the one from
the most mundane, low-skilled job being
K night Rider or driverless cars seemed
surreal, but now are a reality. Driverless replaced could have adverse effects on the
denizens. Some malls have Closed due to
ears were displayed in Las Vegas recently.
“ They were prim arily
used b y g e e ks. . . n o w
everyone is on their
p h o n e .”
- Austin Parrish
4 ClackamasPrint FEBRUARY 1,2017 theclaekamasprintcom
A server mainframe located in the Streeter Anex is utilized by the Networking 151
class as a hands on lab for Cisco.
less traffic. A m azon is growing, w hich
makes online shopping easier.
“ Now at McDonald’ s they have places
that have kiosks that cooks its for you,”
said A m ber W righ t, a m em ber o f the
Associated Student Governm ent. “ That
actually kind o f worries me as a future
employee. W hat if all my jobs are turned
into computers, how will I make money?”
W h ile th is problem m ay seem like
nothing for some, it is a big one for others.
Perhaps we should carefully examine what
we w ill do. W hile technology is great,
how does it affect us as hum ans, or our
economy? Our jobs?