Lever, Pulley & Screw!
The idea of a machine was developed back in third B.C.E with simple machines. Our machines have come a long way from a mere simple machine to nascent AI. Today, we live in a world where zillions of devices communicating relentlessly, building cars, preparing food, chauffeuring us, guarding us and doing mundane to complex tasks. Kudos! We have successfully created the third sex: Machines (μηχανη).
We are creating a parallel universe in our own realm, a parallel universe where the human and the digitized world co-exists. To be fair, the digitized world is growing faster than the former and are getting smarter as we speak. They are being taught to self-administer, to self-learn: recognize patterns, trained to understand us, to be like us, to better ‘us’.
“We have come from the Archytas’ Dove which can fly a distance of 200 meters to NASA Space Shuttle which can fly at a speed of 17500 mph.
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WHAT THIS MEANS TO US?
We are seeing people getting replaced by machines; at check-in desks, billing desks at stores. During Industrial revolution machines were used for displacing muscular work. During this digital revolution, machines are taking over task-centred activities.
This revolution is going to bring gender equality. Men excel at motor skills and most women excel better in integrating analysis and intuitive thinking and the machines are created to do hard labour, repetitive tasks, predictive jobs.
In the next few years, this digital economy will eliminate millions of jobs in our economy. When I say eliminate jobs, it doesn't only mean unskilled labour, it includes lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers. It might come as surprise to few but the fact is lawyers are doing a job which is predictable and the other side machine learning for medical diagnosis and automated robotic surgery are catching up fast.
What next?
As history tells us every new technology is fought with fear and suspicion. Can this digital revolution create new job opportunities?
Move from STEM to STEAM or to STREAM -- Reading/wRiting (R), Art (A), and personalizing education based on the interest of ability of the students.
Guaranteed income! First-time skydiving is adrenaline pumping but you need an instructor along with you. Entrepreneurship is aka to skydiving and a guaranteed income is like the instructor. Guaranteed income will encourage people to take the risk, to pursue a dream and encourages entrepreneurship. Believe me, I experienced it personally, so do many.