Question

As employment polarized, what happened to wages? Why did this happen?
Based on this analysis, what do you think will happen in the labor market if automated driving becomes a reality?
How will machine learning impact the labor market? Any guesses?

Write a short answer between 1000-1500 words.

Answer 1

job polarization caused wage polarization (growing inequality in the top half of the wage distribution but stable or shrinking inequality in the bottom half) in the 1990s is entirely circumstantial, relying on the two trends (employment and wage polarization). Real wages for middle-class workers stagnated while earnings of the lowest and the highest percentiles of the wage distribution increased. It thus seems natural to think that the polarisation of wages is just another consequence of the declining demand for routine tasks. However, there exists some evidence that is not entirely consistent with this thought: virtually all European countries experienced job polarisation as well, yet most of them haven’t seen wage polarisation but rather a continued increase in inequality across the board. Moreover, other factors that may have generated wage polarisation in the US have been proposed (e.g. an increase in the minimum wage, de-unionisation, and ‘classical’ skill-biased technical change).

AUTOMATED Driving

The expected introduction of autonomous, or “self-driving,” vehicles (AVs) promises to have a potentially profound impact on labor demand. While much attention has focused on how AVs will impact personal mobility, they could also transform the way many businesses provide goods and services. For businesses, AVs could represent a capital investment in a labor-saving technology, with the potential to substitute for the labor currently tasked with driving. it could also be increasing structural unemployment, which may erode consumer confidence and disposable income levels, and ultimately reduce demand for consumer goods.which means unemployment that can often be long term as it is part of a fundamental shift in the skills needed by an economy. This can weaken consumer spending and consumer confidence levels.

Machine Learning

Machine Learning will have a huge impact on all areas of business. One of the more compelling arguments against machine learning is that, this time round, technologies are developing skills that are far more human-like than those that have gone before them—so they could wipe out many more of the skilled jobs that have so far resisted automation.

Although robots can take over communications, computing, and thinking, there will be limits even here. There will still be the need for highly qualified professionals, such as engineers, architects, or judges. Also, tasks, where the dexterity remains beyond that of robot fingers, will remain for the foreseeable future.

Machines cannot replace the emotional intelligence of a person. Occupations that require social skills or creativity or represent a high-quality personal service cannot be substituted by machine learning

Certainly, some professions will disappear completely and, in many areas, the requirements will change greatly.

Flexibility is needed

Tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft want to automate as many working processes as possible with learning machines.
The employees of tomorrow must be more flexible because in the future man will have to adapt to the computer and not vice versa.

Employees will have to adjust to more flexible working practices: a fixation on permanent locations and times is often no longer required. This implies more flexibility and freedom on the one hand, but on the other hand, work and personal time will intermingle.