New tech may spur travel job crisis globally

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Due to technological advancements, there are various countries that have turned out to be flagbearers of unemployment. Especially, China has emerged as the major country in terms of joblessness as a result of technological breakthroughs. There isn’t any labour shortage per se, but the surveyed unemployment rate back in February 2023 relating to China shows 5.6 percent concerning the general population, while youth unemployment (those aged 16 to 24) was 18.1 percent. People are beginning to scowl at China’s enormous tech innovation. As it might spur a travel job crisis.

The U.S. economy lost 4,000 jobs due to AI in May of this year alone, according to data from employment outsourcing company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

This resultant concern propagates out of paradigm shift—whatever the countries (like China, United States) do, in terms of technology, they make way to different countries across the globally. However, some revolutionary advancements, on the surface, might appear interesting, but at a deeper level, they are lethal, to say the least. 

After the pandemic-stricken vulnerability that the world was exposed to, people have lost out on their tenacity vis à vis patience. So, there is a growing tendency across the globe to carry out tasks in an automated manner instead of using manual labour.  

How is it effective?

It might appear effective when it comes to the completion of time-bound tasks. Machines and AI tools are faster than humans any day. This is the reason numerous companies are resourcing tech and laying off employees. Quantity reaches faster. Now the concept of quality is slowly fading into thin air in this age of content creation. Writing tools like ChatGpt make the work much easier in terms of research. If one thinks of researching the top 10 offbeat destinations in the world to travel, then it will research and streamline-optimise all offbeat destinations across the internet and, within minutes, put up an amazing list denoting the same. While travelling, one can generate quick captions using ChatGpt, instead of seeking refuge to the creative capabilities.

Check out these surprising ways that AI and machine learning tools can kill you:

Of course, it is fast. But up there in the grey matter, any and every creative side will be paralysed if one is dependent too much on the AI. For example, a person has become so dependent on ChatGpt that he takes help from it even in basic things like framing a simple sentence in English. In India, the language is a major skill that almost every individual needs to have in order to get a job. Suppose that person goes up to an interview and the interviewer asks a tricky question, the interviewee will struggle and almost faint—as the latter will be unable to frame an answer to it. When a person depends too much on something, it becomes a liability that they cannot afford to maintain or get rid of. As a result, he might go into depression or, worse, end up taking his life. 

This is one way that something so basic and obvious that it can be seen with the naked eye can be fatal and kill us from the inside out.

Technological advancements recently made that can spur job crisis:

1. Hong Kong International Airport has introduced advanced biometrics and facial recognition that will allow passengers to avoid long queues and documentation. Now, if this tech gets introduced in Indian airports, it can spur a job crisis. There are employees who can manually verify the identities of passengers against their boarding passes and passports at various airports can lose their jobs. For example, the ones appointed at security and immigration. This tech though can promise better efficiency and a smoother experience for passengers, also poses a threat to employment relating to human labour. 

2. In the hospitality sector, where numerous people get hired from housekeeping to room service to management, an innovation in China relating to technology has shaken the ground for it. A travel blogger named Ken Abroad once saw a robot deliver food to his room. While outwardly it might appear cool and interesting, if this technology comes to India, then it can pose a serious threat to Indians who are willing to work in the hospitality sector, mostly those who have to start working from the bottom. Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2014 call for a “robot revolution” in the manufacturing sector, the nation has made significant strides toward automation and the replacement of “humans with robots.” 
3. YEEDI, an amazing robot vacuum brand founded in 2019, made the M12 PRO+ robot vacuum. If this gets launched in India, then this country, where domestic workers, househelps, or maids, which constitute a significant part of the population, can lose their jobs. For example, in a city like Mumbai, it is very hard to get a maid, and if by chance one employs a maid, then they will charge a hefty remuneration. They are mostly tasked with jobs like sweeping and vacuuming. Now people would like to save up and not pay someone monthly for doing these tasks and instead would invest in a vacuum cleaner. This will automatically shift the aspect of household chores towards technology-driven solutions.
4. Devin, built by an AI software engineer at a US-based startup, can write codes, deploy them, and debug them. As Devin can produce content at a faster pace and at a lower cost, this AI solution can consequently lead to a decline in the jobs of travel bloggers. For experts formerly involved in the technical aspects of creating and disseminating travel narratives online, this move toward automated content creation may mean job losses.

Although Indians now view these new technologies as blessings, a closer examination will reveal their deadly consequences.

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