In our opinion: Utah must plan for a new era of automation | Deseret … – Deseret News

For Utah to stay competitive in an age of automation, the state needs thousands of more educated workers, rather than protectionist policies.

Shentong Express, a Chinese delivery company, recently released a video showing an army of small, round, orange robots sorting packages. The robots are capable of sorting 200,000 packages in a single day, and they are self-charging, so they never stop working. The video is an amazing demonstration of technological innovation, but it should also serve as a visceral reminder that Utah and the nation are not adequately prepared to adapt to a changing global economy.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the United States lost more than 5.6 million manufacturing jobs. Its not surprising, then, that President Donald Trumps campaign was uniquely appealing to blue-collar workers who were encouraged by promises of trade deals that would restore the glory days of American manufacturing.

But according to a study conducted by Ball State University s Center for Business and Economic Research, roughly 85 percent of those jobs were lost to automation, not foreign workers. Thats why manufacturing productivity has increased at a much steeper rate than jobs have declined.

This trend is likely to accelerate in the years to come. At last years World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, experts predicted that technology and automation would eliminate as many as 7.1 million more jobs by the end of the decade. Given that robots are much cheaper and less demanding than human beings, that means that, regardless of any trade agreements, most of those jobs simply arent coming back.

Its worth remembering, however, that America has been through this kind of economic shift before. General Motors started using robots to make cars back in 1961, and increased assembly line automation has been ongoing ever since. Yet human beings are still a vital part of that process, although their contributions require more skill and training than they did before robots were put on the assembly line. The same will undoubtedly be true in the economy going forward.

It is simply not possible to freeze an economy to preserve jobs that have become technologically obsolete. The best response to changing economic conditions is training to help displaced workers find new jobs that robots cant do. The government will be more successful in helping citizens find meaningful work if they increase both the availability and quality of education rather than trying to isolate the American economy through protectionist trade deals. In addition, universities and trade schools would do well to tailor their curricula to meet the modern job market.

Firing all those robot workers sorting packages may save some unskilled jobs in the short term, but its a long-term recipe for disaster. In an economy with increasing automation, adaptation through education is the best solution.

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In our opinion: Utah must plan for a new era of automation | Deseret ... - Deseret News