Amazon goes beyond automation
With Amazon retraining its workforce to the tune of $700 million, nearly a third of the company’s US workforce will be familiar with tech-intensive responsibilities. The effort, one of the most aggressive in Amazon’s history, is in part laying the groundwork for the company to figure out whether its stated mission is to abandon its own human workforce in favor of smart robots.
The tech titan has made no secret of its desire to go fully automated: It has been investing in automation technology for years. In 2017, Amazon had more than 100,000 robots working in warehouses around the world, and recently it was reported that it had begun replacing human packers with so-called CartonWrap robots in some warehouses.
So it came as a shock earlier this month when the company said that full automation was at least a decade away. During a tour of a fulfillment center in Baltimore, Scott Anderson, director of Amazon Robotics Fulfillment, told reporters that current “limited” technology doesn’t match human cognitive abilities. For now, Amazon’s more than 100,000 employees will work alongside robots that, surprisingly enough, only perform a fraction of the tasks, mostly limited to moving large blocks of products around the warehouse. They simply lack the higher-order cognitive abilities, like applying insight and making decisions, needed for more precise, nuanced work. Amazon’s revelation could serve as a warning to other companies that prioritize automation over human workers. There is such a thing as too much, too soon.
CEOs at Davos were roundly criticized in January for openly discussing the desire to replace human workers with machines on a massive scale. But in reality, the risks of doing so are often too high. Automation is most effective when it is designed with the user in mind.
Humans and automated technology serve different purposes
In 1961, workers at a General Motors plant began working alongside the first industrial robot. Called Unimate, the 4,000-pound arm was a “cobot” that welded and soldered car parts alongside its counterparts.
More than 50 years later, Unimate remains a model for how humans and machines can coexist on the factory floor. The reason? Automation works best when it is designed to augment human capabilities. Human-centered automation, as this philosophy is called, eliminates the mundane, tedious, or dangerous tasks that humans were previously required to perform. While humans remain central to the workplace, automation can run in the background, supporting workers along the way.
Today, modern versions of Unimate are popping up in manufacturing and non-manufacturing contexts alike. Small boutique manufacturers like Brooklyn’s Lower East Side, an in-house eyewear company, are investing in automated solutions that complete repetitive tasks with better-than-human accuracy. Similarly, Salesforce’s CRM software can now automatically send hundreds of perfectly timed follow-up emails on behalf of a busy sales rep, and chatbots on e-commerce sites instantly answer common customer questions.
These tasks are well suited to technology because they are repetitive and require little judgment or creativity. However, they still require human intervention with critical thinking skills to handle more complex situations. Just as we would never fully exchange email communications with an automated program, we can rely on automation to fly airplanes or provide quality assurance for complex automotive parts. Machines simply aren’t as good at handling the unexpected or adjusting to new requirements as humans are.
Companies that don't prioritize human workers will fall behind.
Companies that deploy new automation technology without transparency, or without considering how it will affect their workers, risk reputational damage.
In March, Tesla, previously known as a forward-thinking company, was criticized for routinely flouting safety requirements. At Amazon, the overreach of its technology has sparked protests from warehouse and office workers; the company has been criticized for everything from requiring constant email availability to filing a patent for a disturbing cage designed to protect warehouse workers from their robots.
In more extreme cases, some companies actively ask entry-level employees to implement technology that will make their colleagues obsolete. Last summer, an editor at MIT Technology Review recalled an internship in which she was asked to design a 3D printing solution that would reduce the costs associated with the foundry process, only to learn that the company planned to replace the worker who had spent more than 30 years developing it. Even if these companies don’t suffer reputational damage, this approach can severely undermine morale and create distrust among remaining employees.
A more human-centered approach
Before adopting new automation technology, companies need to take a hard look at whether it will actually improve worker efficiency and output. In factories, the difference is often stark: Compare a factory that not only digitizes paper-based workflows but also collects and analyzes that data to continuously improve productivity, quality, and job safety, to a factory floor where workers rely on walkie-talkies, binders full of paper, and their own memories, and it’s easy to see why automation is used in the right way.
Finally, companies should never forget that they have a valuable resource to evaluate new technology: their workers. Most employees, especially those in industries sponsored by Silicon Valley and its ilk, will embrace technology that makes their daily work easier and more efficient. Automation also provides employees with an opportunity to upskill and focus on the higher-order, more nuanced work that humans do best. By engaging in transparent dialogue with the people whose lives will be directly affected by new technology, companies can ensure that people remain at the center of their operations.
Both humans and robots are here to stay. Automation, artificial intelligence, and other technology can bring significant benefits to businesses, as long as they also invest in human workers.
Lawrence Whittle is the CEO of Parsable, overseeing all functions at Parsable and driving the company's vision and direction. He was part of two successful IPOs, Model N and Centra Software, and a commercial sale to Oracle: ProfitLogic, and a C-level executive at Persado.