Are we inventing our way to extinction?

I went to a new McDonald’s outlet in Tuguegarao City to have breakfast before my flight to Manila, a few days ago. To my surprise, the store which is located almost 500 kilometers north of Manila, already has a modern touch screen ordering system in lieu of employees who normally perform the task. Weeks before that, I brought my son to a Jollibee outlet in Makati City, and after relaying our orders to an employee over the counter, our food was brought to our table by a robot that moves on wheels.

These recent encounters with technological and mechanical advances that have reduced dependence on human labor, engendered uneasy thoughts in me. While the automated functions I encountered may be relatively minor compared to the thousands of innovation already invented by mankind, what generated worry in me is the possibility that restaurants in the near future can be operated without, or very minimal, human employee in each outlet. I imagined completely automated restaurants, with systems and machines handling the taking of orders, cooking of food, serving to customers, cleaning of tables, and even security for the premises. And if it can be done in restaurants, it can happen in all other business establishments.

Concern for the troubling marginalization of human labor may have plagued mankind since the industrial revolution began in the 1700s. When machines were invented that led to the mechanization of agricultural plantations and the invention of manufacturing plants that produce goods out of assembly lines, fears were probably raised that mankind may be on a path of eliminating gainful employment while populations grow constantly.

But despite the thousands of inventions in human history, fears of reducing demand for workforce never became mainstream concerns. In fact, so many inventions multiplied demand for employment. The mechanization of agriculture produced bountiful crop harvests that spurred the concoction of a wide array of products. The emergence of manufacturing plants led to the production of an abundant supply of goods that had to be distributed in an expanded number of markets. The invention of vehicles spurred travel for leisure and movement of goods. The creation of the internet exponentially eased the flow of information and communication.

But what do we make of a future that will bring about the full automation of restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, banks, and the emergence of driverless vehicles? Actually, the partial automation of business establishments is already in our midst in the form of automated teller machines, vending machines, online shopping, and the like. But a full automation—that either totally eliminates or hugely reduces the need for human employment across all industries—can produce an unprecedented impact on humanity.

Until recently, whatever negative impact inventions has had on gainful employment has been confined to manual and administrative labor. But the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) now threatens jobs that require creativity, judgment, or discretion, and even those that conceive inventions and generate innovation. Mankind is going beyond inventing extensions and multiplications of his brawn. He is on the cusp of creating competition for his brains.

While AI may still be in its infancy, it’s evolving fast. It has now either raised fears or given rise to real problems in schools, in the movie industry, and in the creative arts. AI has demonstrated the ability to: provide written output that can be misrepresented by students as their own; produce artistic creations such as literary works, paintings, and sculptures, and; create television programs and movie films that eliminate real-life actors and support staff.

We hear voices of protest over GMA television’s recent introduction of Maia and Marco, who are AI sportscasters. Film and television screenwriters in the United States have gone on strike to protest, among others, the use of AI to replace their jobs.

Mankind has tremendously benefitted from inventions that have been made all throughout history. These inventions have vastly transformed our way of life and have set us apart in the animal kingdom. But the multitude of inventions that have been created until recently, were the kind of innovations that expanded human activity, thereby increasing and not reducing the need for human labor and industry.

There is genuine concern that a significant quantity or quality of some current inventions may go the way of reducing, if not totally eliminating, the need for human brain and brawn. This is if these inventions are allowed to seek direction, driven purely by profit. Governments must employ their tools of incentives and disincentives to wrestle control over the direction of these inventions that threaten epochal changes in mankind’s role and importance in this world. In all these inventions, the question must be asked—are we inventing our way to extinction?

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