Whenever a new technology comes along there are many people that express concerns about that technology replacing workers and destroying jobs. They worry that by making a process easier or more efficient, the technology will decrease the need for human workers. This problem is of special concern to the South Carolina economy. Since the end of the Civil War, our economy has been dominated by factories. Until recently, our primary products were textiles, but those jobs disappeared when textile production was outsourced overseas. Since then, manufacturing has been filling the void. With the collapse of the textile industry still fresh in the minds of many South Carolinians, many are afraid that increasing computerization will similarly destroy the need for workers in South Carolina’s many factories. Fortunately, not only is the concern unnecessary, but South Carolina is ready for it this time. The state has already taken steps to make itself attractive to new high-tech businesses, and is hoping to fashion itself as the Silicon Valley of the east coast.
The biggest problem with the idea that technology and computerization eliminate jobs is that it assumes the existing method is the only way of doing something. For example, that’s like saying that because the refrigerator eliminated the need for milk-men, many people are unemployed. Obviously that isn’t the case, because now there is a market for people to sell and service refrigeration equipment. In fact, according to research from the Bay Area Economic Institute, the creation of one high-tech job creates 4.3 additional “supporting jobs” in the local community, compared to just 1.3 “supporting jobs” for each manufacturing job (Blum, Gutierrez, Ngoufanke, & RR). So instead of decreasi...
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...of high-tech innovation. It goes without saying that this would bring many new companies with a need for computer scientists to the area. The resulting payoff for the state would be huge. In addition to creating high-tech jobs, such businesses would keep the intellectual talent from state universities—many of whom have already received state investment in the form of scholarships—in the state. With the SCRA’s history of success and the increasing number of high-tech businesses in the area, I believe that South Carolina will succeed in reaping the benefits of the continuing computerization of business and industry.
Works Cited
Blum, Roberto, Claudia Gutierrez, Toukam Ngoufanke, and Anirudh RR. "Private Sector Innovation? Think South Carolina, Not Silicon Valley." Knowledge @ Wharton. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Unskilled laborers are the first to lose their jobs when new technology is introduced to an industry. With the introduction of the of the cotton picker in 1944, costs to pick cotton decreased by more than eighty percent (Moses 6). Landowners still had their farms and even higher profit margins, but Black cotton pickers lost their jobs. Similarly, assembly line workers have begun to lose their jobs because robots can do their job faster and more efficiently (Moses 8). To prevent the unemployment of Black people in this field and other labor intensive jobs alike, technology must be adopted, and algebra must be used to do so. Instead of being replaced by technology, workers are able to incorporate it in their current
The importance of this industry is represented by the industries numbers. Textiles was the foundation of southern economy. In 1900 there were one hundred seventy-seven mills in North Carolina, but by the early nineteen twenties, that number had grown to over five hundred, with fifty in Gaston County alone. Textiles was a booming industry in the south. South Carolina employed only 2,053 people in the industry at the turn of the century, but by 1920 nearly 50,000 people worked in mills, one sixth of South Carolina’s population. Virginia’s textile industry grew just as quickly with the incorporation of the Riverside Cotton Mills which had only 2,240 spindles and a mere one hundred looms. By the turn of the century the mill expanded and operated 67,650 spindles and 200,000 looms. Growth seemed to continue almost exponentially until the depression set in in 1929.
As technology advances jobs, and the employment rate decrease due to the use of computerized equipment. Computers are now able to complete task that otherwise would be done by employers. An example would be the shutdown of a corporation know as Toys R Us. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy. Toys R Us will be open for the holiday season, but as soon as the holiday season is over, they will be shutting down. This will affect millions, the current employees who depend on their income, will be struggle for awhile. So basically people are losing jobs, which means they are losing their income. Toys R Us also said that in the future they would like to reopen smaller stores, as part of their long term plan. (Verdon, Joan. “Toys R Us Store Closings Expected after the Holiday
“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr and “How Computers Change the Way We Think” by Sherry Turkle are two articles that explore how technology influences our daily lives. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” discusses the effects of the internet in our society, how it is robbing us of our deep thoughts, memories and our ability to read books. Carr also talks about how the internet has become our primary source of getting information. The writer also discusses about how he’s having difficulty focusing on reading. “How Computers Change the Way We Think” is talking about how people don’t use their brains full potential capacity to solve problems. Instead, we depend on technology to do that for us.
Technology unemployment is unemployment due to our discovery of means of economizing the use of labor outrunning the pace at which we can find new uses for labor. (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011)
Technology has affected employment in many ways. One way is it increases jobs; it creates more opportunities for jobs over the internet. You can also apply for applications for jobs over the internet. You no longer have to drive to places where you want to work to fill out an application. Technology has also taken jobs for people. One example is building cars; instead of hand made cars, there are
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man” (Hubbard 151). Elbert Hubbard, an American writer and the founder of Roycroft Artisan community, predicted the future with his epigram. His maxim would resonate for years to come and would be seen in the future job markets. For thousands of years, technology has fundamentally changed the way we live and interact with our environment. It has brought us from the Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution. It has taken us from the creation of the computer to the landing on the moon. Not only has technology affected the old, but also it has affected the youth. For the old and aged, modern technological innovations have brought about longer lives through medicine and other health care. People today are able to live longer, live stronger, and live happier. As for the youth and growing generations, technology has also affected them in various ways. From entertainment to education, technology has designed a generation that could never have been before imagined. But technology has not stopped there; it also has affected their future. From what careers they will pursue to how much they will earn, technology will play a big role. With the rise of new machines and equipment, thousands of jobs will be created that will range from ones that involve handling the machinery to ones that cannot be done by machinery. However on the other hand, new technology also takes away thousands of other jobs from society. As businesses look for ways to maker bigger profits, they will start replacing workers with machinery that could do the job faster and better. While the amount of unemployed may increase due to the advancement of technology, there will also b...
...nedikt and Michael Osborne. The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? London, 17 September 2013.
Society constantly tries to make everyday life quicker and easier through technology. Today, an American can simply go to an app of their choosing that can either allow them to tasks such as request a quick ride to avoid being late for work, purchase a gift for grandma for her upcoming birthday, and even pay this month’s rent with just a push of a button. Therefore, industries relating to taxis, retail industry, and real estate are enduring the digital disruption that has arose from the mere fact that they can not meet the demands that technology so easily gives Americans. Nevertheless, there is bound to be another industry that is in technology’s black book. I believe that the next industry that technology is going to cross off it’s list is
A 2014 Oxford study found that the number of U.S. workers shifting into new industries has been strikingly small: In 2010, only 0.5 percent of the labor force was employed in industries that did not exist in 2000. The discussion about humans, machines and work tends to be a discussion about some undetermined point in the far future. But it is time to face reality. The future is now. (UPI Top
Kelley,T. (2005, Oct.). The 10 faces of innovation. Fast Company, 74-77. Retrieved 6th March’ 2014 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=1d6a17b7-c5f7-4f00-bea4 db1d84cbef55%40sessionmgr10&hid=28&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=18386009
This leads to the idea that automation has divided human workers and creates unemployment. David Ricardo was economic politist who fought against the problem of automation. Ricardo believed technology would change living standards and concluded that machines might one day make goods so cheaply that there would not be any competition between factories if they paid laborer a living income (Brown, 2012, p. 134). Employers believe this to be false saying there is little effect if any due to the cause of automation. With the rise of automation, it was in matter of time that the unemployment rate would increase. Even with the massive rise of automation, the United States and economy kept making jobs. Positions were gone, but new technologies created other jobs. Employers say are positioned in different title within the same company or in the same position at another company that has not automated (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2017, p. 1). There is several reports and forums that say as time goes, more jobs will be lost and than more jobs will be created from automation. “The World Economic Forum released a report in January 2016 claiming that we will lose a net 5 million jobs by 2020. This is an estimation based on a subtraction of 7 million jobs but an
Computers are ubiquitous. As our society grows towards being a culture connected through the Internet, and as prices of these machines gradually decrease, more and more have been purchased by families for their homes and as a result, children are beginning to learn to use the computer at an earlier age. Even if computers are not presently available at the home, a child will almost certainly be exposed to one at school or the library, among other places. Adults today are amazed at the amount of knowledge a child has at such an early age – children generally find that computers gives them a sense of power and accomplishment. “A computer is nothing more than a box of circuits that perform software level tasks for a user. Even the software is little more than instructions to the hardware to perform specified tasks. Therefore, a computer, in and of itself is, neither positive nor negative. Its inherent goodness or badness is determined by the user.” With that being said, there are many positive, with as many negative associations that come along with owning a computer.
Computer technology not only has solved problems but also has created some, including a certain amount of culture shock as individuals attempt to deal with the new technology. A major role of computer science has been to alleviate such problems, mainly by making computer systems cheaper, faster, more reliable, easier to use.