Nowadays, more and more jobs and tasks which involve hard physical work are done by machines. Do the positive effects of this trend outweigh the negative effects?
利大于弊
Nowadays, more and more physical jobs and tasks which were previously performed by people are now being performed by machines. I disagree with the view that the negative effects of this trend outweigh the positive effects.
Some people maintain that the wide use of machines in various industries is threatening the future of workers. Sooner or later, those humans will lose their jobs and their ability to support their families because the machines have taken over their responsibilities.
On the other hand, it should be noted that even though machines may be replacing some humans’ jobs, humans will still be needed to operate those machines. In other words, an employee who previously might have performed hard labor might lose that particular job to a machine, but that same person could be retrained to operate the equipment. If this happens, that person will be able to have a job which requires less physical exertion.
Furthermore, companies would not be replacing hard labor jobs with equipment unless the equipment was faster, more proficient, less expensive, and possibly safer.
As a society, human beings are always moving forward in new inventions and in more advanced technology. Before the wheel was invented, all items were carried by humans or animals. Now, no one can even question the benefits of using wheels to transport items and people.
Although some people may be losing jobs to machines and other new innovations, those same people can be trained for other positions, including positions in which they are operating the machinery that replaces them. Our society continues to move forward with new innovations, therefore people need to learn to adapt.