KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The advent of “disruptive” technology, particularly the anticipated arrival of artificial intelligence and robotics, has sparked global fears of mass job losses and worsening income disparity.
But to optimistic industry and tech players, the fear may be exaggerated.
Panellists at a forum discussing the future of work here say automation may not necessarily be a zero-sum game.
While traditional jobs — usually those involving calculations, clerical and data processing — may inevitably give way to softwares and computers, the same technological progress causing disruptions will see the creation of new professional fields and jobs.
Among it could be data analysts, as growing demand for workers who can analyse and communicate complex information to customers could grow as big data becomes an integral aspect to the new economy, Pension fund EPF deputy chief executive (Strategy), Tunku Alizakri Raja Muhammad Ali, said.
“I don’t think it’s about losing jobs. It will be more about how jobs will get done,” he told the Future of Work, Workplace, Workforce conference.
“We still need humans for decision-making on things involving morality or ethics...and while the AI may have all the information, it could be too much and confusing.
“We will still need humans to communicate that information.”
Alizakri said EPF has put into practice the theory that technology may not necessarily be disruptive by providing training courses for front desk staffs to become consultants.
After the fund installed machines to make clerical work like applications, account statement issuance and approvals faster, former front desk staff were trained to analyse personal data to provide financial management consultancy for account holders.
“We initiated micro-disruptions of our own but we took control of it,” Alizakri said. “We offered trainings for them to become advisors.”
Roughly 43 per cent of jobs in Malaysia will potentially be lost to automation, TalentCorp, the conference’s chief organiser, said in its Visioning Malaysia’s Future of Work: A Framework for Action report.
The World Economic Forum said in its Future of Jobs report that the financial services will be the most hurt by disruptive technology in the immediate future — up to 43 per cent of workers in the sector may lose their jobs in the next three years.
This means retraining will be crucial to counter the effect of automation, with government intervention needed to facilitate the transition between retrenchment to new employment, WEF noted.
But retraining can be costly. Over here, critics say government retraining and upskilling programmes have failed to help low-skilled retrenched workers get rehired, mostly because the courses teach participants skills for positions often already filled up.
To solve the problem requires new thinking and more updated programmes that can teach new skills to meet specific demands, something personal data like employment records can help with.
Sehraj Singh, Country Head of Public Policy and Government for job networking application, LinkedIn, citing the company’s own experience said data sharing between private tech companies and governments help policymakers craft better training programmes and more efficiently.
“Providing data insights and labour market insights to governments helps policy-makers craft better training and skilling programmes and design job banks more efficiently.
“Data insights help us to also manage our talent and resources better. The training can be done based on their profiles so we can have the right worker for the right job… this makes it more efficient,” he added.
