By Fernando Castillo*
Every time the topic of artificial intelligence and robotics creeps into a conversation, the same uncomfortable question pops up: Is it going to take our jobs?
When the first commercial typewriters hit the market (especially the Remington No. 1 in 1874), the public’s reaction was far from welcoming. Many people distrusted them and showed strong resistance to this “new technology.”
This happened mainly because people associated printed letters exclusively with newspapers, books, or advertisements. Receiving a typewritten letter, for instance, was considered a severe sign of disrespect. One of the most famous anecdotes involves a businessman who returned a typewritten letter to one of his clients with a note that read:
“There is no need to write to me using a typewriter. I can read handwriting perfectly well. I consider it an insult that you send me a printed text, as if you doubted my ability to understand handwriting.”
On the other hand, some believed that receiving a typewritten letter meant the sender was trying to hide their true identity or forge the document in question. But why did this happen? Basically, there was a belief that a person’s signature or personal touch would disappear entirely when using the typewriter’s keys.
The same process is happening today with the arrival of artificial intelligence and robotics. The fear of being replaced by a machine creates genuine anxiety. However, this is natural when we see how this cycle repeats itself over and over again with the arrival of new technologies.
If we analyze the situation from a realistic perspective, the job market is not heading toward the extinction of employment, but rather toward a process of foundational technological transformation.
On one hand, it is challenging to deny that new machines and technology streamline production processes through job automation. Likewise, handing over dangerous or repetitive tasks to these new technologies helps protect workers’ health while opening doors to new professional fields.
On the other hand, the transition process poses a major challenge. Addressing the displacement of traditional jobs is a growing concern given the technical skills gap and the high cost of adaptation for both companies and employees.
However, the outlook changes once you contrast the fear of displacement with actual statistics. According to estimates by the World Economic Forum, while automation could displace about 92 million jobs by 2030, the adoption of new technologies will create around 170 million new roles. The net positive across these figures is a balance of 78 million jobs. Furthermore, analyses by firms such as Goldman Sachs and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) point out that between 50 and 55 percent of professions will not disappear, but will instead be modified.
The real discussion should not center on replacing people, but on workplace reconfiguration. Artificial intelligence is not arriving as an unfeeling rival, but as a new paradigm that demands we evolve toward direct collaboration between humans and AI. Our true challenge is not to avoid change, but to prepare ourselves to join it.
Sources and Bibliographical References
- World Economic Forum – The Future of Jobs Reporthttps://www.weforum.org/
- Goldman Sachs – Global Economics Analyst: The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growthhttps://www.goldmansachs.com/
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – Technology & Workforce Transformation Studieshttps://www.bcg.com/
*Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics from the University of Colima.
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