There have been several significant technological advancements in the latest years. Scientists now focus on developing reliable artificial intelligence and the quantum computer, and they are close to achieving their goals, so the future will look very different. Cognitive technology is gaining traction, and soon, technology will replace human workers.
Cognitive technology, also known as cognitive computing, is the concept that promotes the idea that machines can replace humans and perform different tasks.
That has already happened in several industries and activity fields, but human intelligence and decision-making capabilities are still required. So, we'll not come close to the same scenario, such as in The Matrix, The Terminator, or other similar movies.
More Details on Cognitive Technology
Marc Andreesen, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, has predicted since 2012 that machines will replace human workers in the future. Andreesen stated back then that the workforce will be divided into two categories — people who tell machines what to do and machines that tell other people what to do.
Day after day, computers and artificial intelligence become more capable, and engineers and scientists struggle to come up with superior computing systems. In the future, most likely, cognitive technology, artificial intelligence programs will take over many jobs that are nowadays performed by humans.
Besides replacing human workers, cognitive technology could also mean the education of people. Increasing tuition prices and lowering investments in training might represent the problem in the future since fewer people will be able to learn the skills needed for the job of the future.
Cognitive technology can help people learn new skills. We already have AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality). These technologies can be employed in retraining personnel. It's cheaper and offers more options for human workers to get new abilities.
Computer in Offices
Until recently, automation has been the domain of industry and factories. Robots have replaced manual labor for dozens of years, but in the past years, engineers and scientists focused on artificial intelligence systems that can replace workers in offices.
Let's take Google's AI, for instance. This artificial system can make or answer phone calls and can "talk" almost like a human being. In the future, most likely, such systems will be improved. That might lead cognitive technology to replace workers in customer support and call centers.
At the moment, people and computers work closely in different work situations. At Amazon warehouses, for example, portable scanner help employees reach every product included in an order. Food delivery and ride-hailing applications took the world by storm in recent years. They are also excellent examples of how cognitive technology evolves into replacing intermediaries in some fields of activity.
Cognitive Technology and Training
It's not necessary to consider that cognitive technology will replace human workers. However, at the moment, the focus is on using advanced tech to train people. As we've mentioned above, AR is already helping us learn new skills.
AR and VR headsets are still expensive, but companies can use these devices for more employees, so the costs would be spread out. These technologies will help people learn and apply their new abilities wherever they are required.
Can Technology Replace Humans?
At the moment, you shouldn't be worried that you will lose your job to a machine. Computer systems are still too weak to perform all the tasks that a human can perform. However, technological advancements take place daily and rapidly, so the future will be different.
Cognitive technology is already in place to some extent, but it will considerably grow and evolve in the upcoming years. Many jobs, such as customer support or call centers that are now done by humans, will be performed by robots and artificial intelligence systems in the future. Many other jobs will follow.
Until that moment comes, new technologies can be used to train and help personnel learn new skills. Also, computer systems will need humans to control them, so there will still be jobs for people, only that they will be different than what we're now used to.
Summary
In conclusion, cognitive technology will replace humans in different jobs, but humans will not stay at home, leaving all the tasks in the "hands" of machines. The jobs of the future will be different than those of today, but people will still have to work.
