Human Labour & Automation: Exclusion or Inclusion?

From remotely operated robots to intelligent process automation and what that means for UX design in the future

Viola Miebach

Published in

ArtInUX

10 min readJan 4, 2021

Visual interpretation of exclusion and inclusion

The word ‘robot’ has become a centenarian, first being coined in 1920, introduced to the english language by the science fiction play R.U.R. of the Czech writer Karel Čapek (altho his brother Josef was the true inventor). The play portrays a factory that makes artificial people, the roboti. The robots look and act like people, are able to think for themselves, and do all the work that humans do. At first, they like working for humans, but a rebellion of the robots wipes out the human race. There is a new type of Adam & Eve evolving; They are robots, in charge of the world.

In his book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari ranks “the rise of the useless class” as one of the most alarming threats of the 21st century. Meaning that, as technology gets smarter, more humans are bulldozered out of the job market, replaced by automation, robotics & AI. None of us really know if the skills we learn today will be relevant in 20 years. What skills will be irrelevant in the future?

Are robots replacing us?

We are told that in the near future robots will take over our jobs and at the same time, the robotic sector is the largest sector of jobs created. So what should we believe?

If we look at the past, the industrial revolution has brought many opportunities to humanity. From electricity to the internet followed by smart devices and now to the era of robotics and automation. Not only the society but also labour is formed by technological transformation, bringing forward innovation and enhanced productivity along with it. So why do we fear the coming era so much? If you google “robots and jobs”, you will find various studies on how many million jobs will be taken over by robots, one more threatening than the other.

Recently, while undertaking the outstanding AI & ethics course by Merve Hickok, the founder of AIethics.org I came across an important statement of hers that I want to share.

“Whenever you are talking about AI, algorithms or robots, please do not use pictures of robots. When you are using robotic pictures it does embed the image of AI being robots into peoples mind. The image transmits that AI has human capacities. Capabilities which have implications on people’s perceptions of AI and arising issues about AI having moral values.”

I couldn’t agree more. When we see a robot with the same body traits as a human, doing tasks that a human does, we might perceive that this piece of the machine would act and work exactly as a human would. But they don’t. Neither robotics nor AI have the same capabilities as the human brain has and there will not (for now) be such a thing as an ‘electronic person’ that is equal to the human.

For us AI ethicists it is important to translate the right image of robotics, algorithms, and AI into the world. The transparency, explainability, and accountability have to be crystal clear so humanity understands what this new era brings and how these new techniques are applied. The fact is, robotics, automation, and AI can take over activities that prior to it could be done by humans. But there are tremendous differences between robots, robotics, and AI and they serve very different purposes.

The term ‘robot’ nowadays is used in various cases, bringing up misleading images. To have a better understanding, first, the term automation and robotics have to be distinguished.

Robotics, Automation & AI

Robotics is a branch of technology that deals with physical robots that are programmable machines, usually able to carry out a series of actions autonomously. Robots are pieces of metal interacting with the physical world via sensors and actuators. They can carry out tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously.

By definition, all robots are at least semi-autonomous or remotely operated. That means they react to specific events and conditions without needing to be directed by a human in real-time but requires human intervention in order to operate successfully (for example a robot in the car production industry, constantly being supervised by a human).

However, an autonomous robot acts and behaves independently. It can maintain itself and accomplish complex tasks without humans or wires (for example the vacuum cleaner robots, which can charge themselves when necessary and clean without supervision). Most robots are not artificially intelligent. But there is a bridge between robotics and AI, where the robot is controlled by an AI program. If you want to allow a robotic system to perform more complex tasks and be able to learn from its experience, an AI algorithm has to come into play.

In the timeline below you can see the first robots controlled by humans nearby or physical tools that perform bounded tasks remotely operated 70 years ago up to the mass production of fully artificial intelligent robots in 2020. If you want to learn more about the history, the present, and the future of these technologies and where the idea of robots & AI arose from, you should dive into this article.

Visual timeline from remotely operated robots up to the mass production of AI robots. Link to source here.

Most of this evolution is due to automation in robotics. And automation goes beyond physical objects. Nowadays, we experience automation day-by-day, without even realising.

Automation comes in many forms, from Industrial Automation, which simply uses machines and mechanical technology to carry out tasks that otherwise would be done physically by a human (for example a fully automated factory), up to using computer software and virtual technology to perform a variety of mind-blowing complex tasks.

Software Automation contains:

Digital Process Automation (DPA)/ Business Process Management (BPM), which is the use of technology to streamline workflow processes (for example email automation or a self check-out cashiers desk).
Robotic Process Automation (RPA), an emerging field inside DPA which refers to software robots (it has nothing to do with physical robots) that are programmed to use computer programs similar to how a human would use them (for example call center automation, self-regulating heating system at home).
Intelligent Process Automation (IPA), is an emerging combination of new technologies that combine process redesign through RPA, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. IPA mimics human activities and learns how to do them better (for example health care diagnosis automation, self-driving cars)

Chart stating how automation could increase productivity. Link to source here.

A measurable change is coming. By 2023, the investments worldwide into robotic/intelligent process automation and AI technologies are predicted to double. As process automation evolves and companies adapt to new techniques, people entering the workforce and those already established worry about the rise of these new technologies.

What impact will these investments have on human labour?

Back to reality

100 years later we can recap Čapeks science fiction play. Yes, robotics, process automation, and artificial intelligence have evolved immensely, and will continue evolving for years to come; Recent breakthroughs in developing algorithms have made it technically possible to automate lots of tasks that prior to it could only be carried out by a human.

By now, robotics reached the state of symbiosis with AI, allowing machines the needed skills to deal with unanticipated environments and occurrences. They carry out a diverse set of tasks and are learning meanwhile. And in this exceptional year, heavily affected by the pandemic, suddenly the earlier hesitation of replacing parts of human work in the health sector by these technologies seems to be needed and wanted by the majorities.

A study of McKinsey analysing automation, employment, and productivity analysed around 2000 different work activities and their potential for automation. The study found that 49% of activities that people are paid to do in the global economy have the potential to be automated by adapting currently existing technology. But here comes the relief: Almost every occupation has tasks that can be automated, but fewer than 5% of occupations can technically be autonomous with the technology that currently exists. Let’s look into the reasons for this disparity.

While the technology is constantly evolving and the journey from process automation potential to full adoption has begun, the timing to do so is influenced by five important factors:

Technical feasibility
Cost of developing and deploying solutions
Labour market dynamics
Economic benefits
Regulatory and social acceptance

If a labour activity has the ability to technically being automated, there still has to be a complex process done including realizing the five factors listed above.

The Financial Times together with a database of criteria for automation from McKinsey Global Institute have developed an interactive calculator that tells you whether an activity inside your job could be automated with the currently existing techniques. It gives indications on how labour will change and emphasises on the fact that automation will change what activities people focus on in the future rather than destroying jobs. I looked up the likelihood of automation of my occupation of UX Designer and out of the 19 activities I selected, none of them can be done by a piece of technology in the near future.*

Can a robot do your job? Check it out for yourself here and share the likelihood of your job being automated in the comments below.

While I felt a sense of relief looking at the prediction of this calculator, it made me question the accuracy of analysis and data of certain tasks of my role and UX Design in general.

Inclusion and AIX Design

UX Design is already heavily automated by its evolution over the years. Back in the 90s, when Don Norman coined the term UXD, the toolkits of designers were mostly physical (even Don Norman had to update his book ‘The design of everyday things’ after it’s original release in 1988, to keep it in line with the current developments in the field of design).

After a global digital transformation, with most, if not all, UXD roles moving to operate fully remotely, and with the introduction of tools such as Figma, the Adobe Suite, etc, which allow for process automation, we can surely see how our jobs get more automated and agile.

It won’t be long until we can design interfaces by voice command (the aforementioned tool — Figma, are already trying this), or even have all our data-driven design decisions that are completely automated. We, the designers, have been working hard on standardizing patterns, systems, and guidelines. Ironically, by striving for more efficiency and higher productivity we have laid the groundwork for our automation.

And by May 2021, Google will release a new ranking algorithm called ‘Page Experience’. And with it, Google will automate assessing the usability of a webpage. Soon, they will do parts of our jobs by evaluating and giving hints on improvement on the users’ experience.

I disagree with the automation prediction result stated earlier, my proficiency as a UX designer can be automated (to somewhat extend). But for me, changes bring with them many opportunities.

As Ge Wang says “As easy as it can be to embrace the extremes — to rush into automating everything or to insist on automating nothing — ideal solutions often exist somewhere in between, as a duality between automation and human interaction, between autonomous technology and the tools we wield.”

These dualities give us UX Designers the desired time to fully focus on the human aspect, working inclusively with the technologies of the present on shaping the technologies of the future. As automation is evolving and gives way to new, complex products into our world, there is an essential need for design feedback loops and to streamline the way teams operate in order to generate the best user experience for the products of tomorrow.

From designing the experience of physical products up to the user experience design of digital products and combining all touchpoints of a product by applying service design, now we are facing a new type of activity; AIX Design. We, as the designers of the experience of the products of tomorrow, should ask ourselves how we can incorporate human interaction, ethics, biases, and perceptions into robotics, automation, and AI. Each step of these techniques, which incorporates human interaction, needs itself to be designed in a transparent, explainable way. Technology for humans, to be understood by humans, to take actions instead of humans. AI decision making has to be more transparent, to gain acceptance, to grow trust, and to enable continuous inclusion.

In Russian the word ‘work’ (job) means ‘rabota’ and the word ‘slave’ means ‘rab’. Hence, the word ‘work’ implies a negative connotation. See it as a metaphor; If a robot will automate the ‘rabota’ in the future, it is meanwhile freeing a human from being a ‘rab’.
The etymology of the word ‘robot’ itself means forced labour, so by allowing robotics into our labour we reduced the monotonous, repetitive tasks, and create time and space for complex, creative, productive work.

Regardless of fearing the machine takeover, human brainpower will always be necessary. The essence lies within building the shared space of humans and robotics, automation & AI.

Sources:

*When I did the test for the job ‘UX Designer’ I selected the job category ‘Computer and maths’ and the occupation ‘Computer occupation’. Followed by ticking 19 matching activities to my current work.