COVID-19 will have major impacts on the American economy and job landscape for years to come - and one of those impacts could be automation, or robots taking over jobs from humans.
Nearly half of all jobs are vulnerable to automation, reports the Economist. This echoes a study by International Data Corp, which indicates that 40% of companies worldwide are increasing the amount of automation they use as a response to the pandemic.
This could drastically change how America works.
“We believe that hyper automation is where the market is headed,” said Daniel Dines, CEO of robotic process automation maker UiPath Inc. The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating this trend.
These predictions are troubling for marginalized groups like Black Americans, because the A.I. that powers many robots has been shown to replicate the same biases already present in society.
“If you use data that reflects existing and historical bias, [the A.I. using that data] will reflect that bias,” Rachel Goodman of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program told The Daily Beast.
A.I. programs used in hiring, calculating prison sentences, and facial recognition have all been shown to exhibit bias - sometimes more bias than humans. For people like Black Americans, who already face discrimination at every level of society, this could be a potentially-troubling future.
But there’s also another threat.
These robots typically replace at least one human’s job - but not every job is equally likely to be replaced.
Automation could replace more than 70 million jobs by 2030, estimates the World Economic Forum, and the majority of those jobs lost are “low-skill” positions like factory workers, receptionists, and supermarket cashiers. Some of this automation is already underway.
The same marginalized groups targeted by A.I. bias are also more likely to have their jobs replaced. Black Americans are more likely to work in lower-skill positions, meaning their jobs are more at risk.
There may be a path forward, however.
Andrew Yang made waves during the Democratic presidential primaries for his platform based on Universal Basic Income (UBI). Many believed it was unrealistic, but once COVID-19 hit, the idea began to gain support. Yang was even consulted by Congress on the CARES Act, which included UBI-like direct payments.
Most Americans believe more stimulus will be necessary to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CNBC. Another bill has moved through the House of Representatives, but Republicans seem hesitant to allow it.
“I was talking about an evolving automated economy that would affect more and more of us ... over time,” said Yang in a recent Politico interview. “And it’s become painfully obvious that putting money into our hands is the only common sense solution to keep our families afloat.”
Whether due to a pandemic-level crisis or the looming threat of automation, it appears that UBI may be the way forward.