In the internet era we live in, usually, the question is not whether a job will be replaced, but when. In a report written by McKinsey, they estimate that ‘almost half of all the US jobs may be automated in the next decade’ (Kosslyn, 2019). Thus, the challenge is to find a job that will still exist in the future. Besides the well-known routine jobs such as factory workers and barista’s, IBM’s Watson has been able to create a movie trailer by itself (Hauser, 2019). This shows that it the potential for automation is growing. However, according to Hauser (2019), there is a relatively clear distinction in the jobs that are expected to be automated and the jobs that remain to be done by an actual person. The author’s first argument is that certain jobs will always require empathy, which is hard to deliver by computers. Secondly, in the internet era, nothing is more crucial than collaboration – ‘not only between people but between man and machine’ (Wolfe, 2018).
And that is where our MSc in Business Information Management becomes relevant. Computers currently display an inability to function on its own – there is always a human person required to give orders, feed them with data and give them context (Kosslyn, 2019). This means there will always be at least one person required to smoothen the collaboration between a business and its IT landscape. Let this be exactly what our master is offering: ‘Learn how to analyse the strategic potential of information and its application to business and corporate networks’ (RSM, nd.). Therefore, I think it is safe to say that the one person required in the future era of automated jobs will be us.
However, how long will it take until computers will be able to show empathy and pick up context itself? We are safe for now, but will we be in the future?
Hauser, L., (2019). In the Era of Automation, How Will The Job Market Adapt? Chief Executive [Online]. Available at: https://chiefexecutive.net/automation-job-market-adapt/
Kosslyn, S.M., (2019). Are You Developing Skills That Won’t Be Automated? Harvard Business Review [Online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/09/are-you-developing-skills-that-wont-be-automated
RSM (nd.). MSc Business Information Management. Rotterdam School of Management [Online]. Available at: https://www.rsm.nl/master/msc-programmes/msc-business-information-management/curriculum/why-this-programme/
Wolfe, I.S. (2018). What happens to the “average” worker when average work is obsolete? Rework [Online]. Available at: https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com/rework/what-happens-%E2%80%9Caverage%E2%80%9D-worker-when-average-work-obsolete
