com). As the definition states, automation allows human labour to be replaced while the machines do all the work by themselves. This process is especially evident within the manufacturing industry where there are many automated processes. For example, the car industry has become almost completely automated; the only human labour still required is regulating and watching over the process as performed by machines.
Ways to Affect Employment.
The two previously explained degrees of using machinery both affect employment differently. Mechanization may not be labour replacing, but since it can be time efficient it is likely that it results in shorter time needed to complete the same jobs and therefore in a decrease in employment (less people are required to do the same work because the machines absorb a portion of the workload). In "Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence," Kempf argues that mechanization also creates the opportunity to execute work more precisely, which enables us to solve more problems and possibly explore new branches. This aspect of mechanization will affect employment in a positive way. Since mechanization can make jobs easier, not only physically but also in terms of less required skill or knowledge, it can affect employment quantitatively. This can lower the requirements for certain jobs so people with a lower level degree are also able to do that job. The number of people that in turn are now deemed suitable for these jobs increases and it will be easier for these people to find a job. This also allows the more highly educated people to focus on research and use mechanization with this, as mentioned before.
Automation will be more damaging for employment since it replaces jobs with machinery. Human labour is no longer needed in order to create continuous process. Automation can also create jobs. Since automation allows certain products to be produced that would have been unaffordable through human labour, opportunities for new markets will rise (Schoenberger, 1989).
