2nd July 2019, Kathmandu
On 7th Chaitra, 2074, a considerable mass was present to witness the addressing of a robot during an event at Kathmandu. Sophia, a celebrity robot is the first robot in the world to have the citizenship of a country. Saudi Arabia gave her citizenship in 2018.
While witnessing such a fantastic development of technology brought to Nepal by the United Nation’s Development Program (UNDP), it wasn’t a big question as to how far the human race has leaped ahead. However, not many had thought that their employment opportunities would be at stake soon due to the growth of such robots.
Only a few days ago, Oxford Economics released a report mentioning that by 2030, about 200 million humans will lose their jobs because of these advanced robots coming out in the market.
The report was published after a lot of research, and it says that a single robot displaces about 1.6 humans on average. The effect of this displacement is claimed to be more significant at areas of low income. The report mentions, ‘ 1 robot will displace 2.2 humans in low-income areas and 1.3 humans in high-income countries.’
With the advancement of such technologies, areas such as Nepal, having low-income rate and employment rate will suffer more as compared to other cities with higher income. Since the employment numbers in Nepal are already disheartening, this effect will have severe consequences. It is estimated that these areas will suffer twice as compared to higher income region.
The conclusion of the report says that the alternative to such a massive displacement must be sought as quickly as possible.
However, the report also mentions a fascinating topic of how these robots might provide as much employment as it takes away. Due to the growth of robots industry, employees that are replaced might have a chance at five other fields according to the report.
Health, Business, Hospitality, Transportation, Construction, and Agriculture are the fields mentioned. The development of robots will aid in the productivity and financial upliftment of the whole world.
According to the research, by 2030, the number of robots will increase by 30 %, and it will increase the GPD by 5.3 %, and $4.9 Trillion will be added to the world economy due to the robots.
