Reference no: EM133655172

Assessment

Case Study - Robots Took My Job

Have you ever seen the movie The Terminator in which machines take over the world? Do you think that scenario could ever come true? Researching the Internet of Things makes you wonder if robots can gain self-consciousness, making the possibility of them taking over the earth a reality. If these are your thoughts, you are not alone. Many prominent people in the field of science and technology are debating this hot topic.

"The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," the late British physicist Stephen Hawking told the BBC. "Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it would take off on its own and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate." According to Hawking, the robots may take over the planet if artificial intelligence research is not done properly. The debate on artificial intelligence has two sides: (1) in agreement with Hawking, stating artificial intelligence will overtake human intelligence; and (2) in disagreement with Hawking, stating that "true" AI-loosely defined as a machine that can pass itself off as a human being or think creatively-is at best decades away. The one truth about AI that is occurring today is that robots are taking over jobs in the workplace. Years ago, the horse was displaced by the automobile. In today's workplace, human labour is being displaced by robots. Oxford University researchers have estimated that 47 percent of U.S. jobs could be automated within the next two decades. But which ones will robots take first? According to Shelly Palmer, CEO of The Palmer Group, the following are the first five jobs robots are replacing, along with the last five jobs robots will replace.

1. Middle Management
If your main job function is taking a number from one box in Excel and putting it in another box in Excel and writing a managerial report, then you ale a prime target for a hostile takeover from a robot. Be ready.

2. Salespersons
Robots will dramatically reduce the cost of sales by removing the person from the sales process (request for proposal, quotation, order and fulfillment system), making the entire company far more profitable.

3. Report Writers, Journalists, Authors

Report writing is easy, and robots are being taught to read data, pattern match images or video, or analyze almost any kind of research materials, creating useful managerial reports. Text-to-speech systems are evolving quickly and even commentators will be replaced by robots.

4. Accountants and Bookkeepers

Machine learning accountants and bookkeepers will operate infinitely better than humans and far cheaper. Robo-accounting is in its infancy, but it is awesome at dealing with accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory control, auditing. and several other accounting functions.

5. Doctors

Robots make amazing doctors, diagnosticians, and surgeons. IBM's Watson is teaming up with a dozen U.S. hospitals to offer advice on the best treatments for a range of cancers and to help spot early stage skin can cers. And ultraprecise robosurgeons are currently used for everything from knee replacement surgery to vision correction. This is great news because robotic doctors are going to become a necessity as the world population is expected to reach 11 billion in 2100. With that many people on the earth. even if everyone who ever wanted to be a doctor became one. we still would not have enough doctors.

Figure 1: The First Five Jobs Robots Will Replace

1.  Preschool and Elementary School Teacher
Children need to be taught by humans if we want our children to grow up to be human. A robot would be unable to teach a child to be human.

2. Professional Athlete
A robot playing a sport would simply take all of the fun out of the garne. Professional athletes need to be human!

3. Politician
As long as fairness and equality ate important topics, humans will be the only ones on the political scene.

4. Judge

Judging requires both objective and subjective assessments and simply cannot be replaced by a robot.

5. Mental Health Professional

It takes a great deal of human knowledge to undersiand mental health issues. and psychologists and psychiatisls wil not be replaced by robots due to the deticate nature of humans."

Figure 2: The Last Five Jobs Robots Will Replace

Answer the following questions:

Question 1: What are the robots that exist today and what are their capabilities? (300 - 600 words)

Question 2: Define the three primary types of decision-making systems and how robots in the workplace could affect each. (300 - 600 words)

Question 3: Describe the difference between transactional and analytical information, and determine how robots could improve the process for gathering and manipulating each type for a grocery store such as Safeway. (300 - 600 words)

Question 4: Illustrate the business process model used by a robot to perform an analysis on a patient with a cold. (100 - 300 words)

Question 5: Explain business process reengineering and how robots might dramatically change the current sales process. (300 - 600 words)

Question 6: Formulate different metrics that a personal trainer robot for a fitness club could provide a customer. (100 - 300 words)

Question 7: Argue for or against the following statement: Robots are better than humans in all business capacities. (300 - 600 words)