Whither automation?

For the past few days I’ve been working on automating some processes in my job. There are certain things we do in my company that require genuine human judgment. Many, though, do not. 

If it requires human judgment, it probably can’t be automated. Customer service questions, for example, will most likely always need human beings to answer them. Some student from a small college in India coming to your conference wants to have his airfare and hotel paid for. He has to be told “no,” and he has to be told tactfully. Hard to automate that. Making a spreadsheet, though, is the type of thing that can almost always be automated (to some degree, at least). Lots of things we work on are just algorithms. And computers love algorithms. 

If you work in a business (such as basically any business these days) that has processes that are being automated , you’ll find the workers have curious and contradictory attitudes toward automation. If a new automated process eliminates one or two tedious but relatively minor tasks and makes for a bit of breathing room in the workday, workers are pleased. But if it begins to look like everything they do is about to be automated, workers become Luddites. 

I remember a scene in The Wire where Frank Sobotka is shown a video about the new automated unloading processes at the Rotterdam Port. These processes have allowed the Port to reduce its workforce by, like, 97%. This brings Frank almost to tears. All he can see are his Baltimore union buddies who are about to be automated right out of their livelihoods.

I’d guess most people feel this way about their jobs. Even if they don’t really like what they do, they hate and fear the idea of a machine doing it instead. If our jobs were automated to the point that we were no longer needed, we would be forced back into the world to think on our feet once again. Which is a difficult thing to do after being, well, an automaton for years on end.

But the funny (and contradictory) part of it is that people universally love automation in their personal lives. Automatic dishwasher? Hell yes! Automatic vacuum cleaner? Sign me up! An app that automatically sends Happy Birthday e-cards to my friends and family? I can’t believe I ever lived without it! Even purists and artisans like to find tasks automated. Julia Child sings the praises of food processors in the anniversary edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. “Mousses in minutes,” she says. 

There’s not a single job around the house I wouldn’t be delighted to see a robot or a computer doing in my place or at least making easier. The reason we all love automation at home is because it’s obvious how it adds value to our lives. It frees up time to do more things we value more.  

It’s only in the twisted world of “employment” that people lose sight of how automation adds value. Many people would describe their financial relationship with their employer by saying, “The company pays me to do x task.” But doing x task is not really what the company pays you for. They pay you to add value to the organization. And if a machine can be made to do x task, then the machine is adding value.

It might seem that the machine is only adding value to the people at the top, but it’s also adding value to the worker it displaces. If you were to see yourself as an entrepreneur within your company, you’d see the automation of your job as a fantastic opportunity to take on greater challenges and show your stuff. After all, if your job could be automated, it must not have been employing all your brilliant talents, right?

Few people see their jobs this way, though, and few would seize the opportunity. Maybe they’re not to blame. Not many companies encourage a very enterprising attitude among their employees. But for those who do think creatively and entrepreneurially, the future of automation holds exciting possibilities. There’s no telling how many jobs will be fully (or almost fully) automated in 30 years. Lots of jobs will be destroyed. Lots will be created. Here’s hoping you and I can stay on the creative side of that equation.