With how fast AI and robotics are moving, it's no surprise that a lot of people are worried especially about the risk of losing their jobs someday. Well, I don’t blame them. I feel that the need to study the current situation is very important by looking at the right data.
The adoption of AI and robotics no doubt IS making many operations faster, cheaper, and more efficient but it is also reshaping (not just reducing) human employment, not eliminating it entirely. Let’s break it down, shall we?
WHERE HUMAN STILL FITS IN
Employment isn't disappearing, it's evolving
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY EXAMPLES
Since 2017, Ford Motor Company has heavily automated its factories with robotic arms and AI, reducing 12% of line worker jobs. But Ford also hired 8% more engineers, software developers, and robot maintenance specialists.
While Tesla Motors Ltd uses 10,000+ robots at its Gigafactories, it still employs 127,000 humans globally (as of 2024), growing by 15% year-on-year because human design, supervision, creative problem-solving, and innovation can't be fully automated.
SKILLS OF THE FUTURE??
Old World = Humans = manual, repetitive, predictable jobs.
New World = Humans = creative, strategic, empathetic, supervisory, and technical roles.
Machines = repetitive, dangerous, analytical, precision roles.
AI and robotics will cause a reduction in traditional jobs. However, they will create new jobs requiring higher cognitive skills, technical expertise, and creativity. Employment doesn't vanish, it migrates.
AI/ROBOTICS MIGRATION TO HIGHER-SKILLED JOBS
When AI and robots take over basic or repetitive work, humans are pushed "up the value chain" into roles that need more thinking, judgment, and creativity.
Example: Amazon is automating warehouse picking, but it hires more robot maintenance staff, AI logistics optimizers, and human warehouse flow planners now.
IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT POSITION
AI and automation are also changing; not removing; traditional management jobs.
Administration, Finance, HR, Legal, even Management are not dying but evolving into strategy, design, interpretation, and leadership based on insights provided by AI.
Humans are still needed at "the judgment level" and to navigate emotions, uncertainty, and innovation, where machines are still weak..
OTHER SECTORS
STILL ON ARCHITECTURE (VR, AR, MR)
Architecture is becoming one of the most exciting "human-tech fusion" fields. The combination of VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed Reality), and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is revolutionizing design, collaboration, and client experience.
REAL-WORLD CASES
1. AI-Generated Designs + VR Review
Tools like Spacemaker (now Autodesk Forma) use AI to create multiple design options (sunlight, wind, density).
Designers then use VR to walk through those spaces before a single brick is laid.
2. AR Site Integration
Imagine holding an iPad on-site and seeing the future building overlaid on the empty land.
AI integrates building data with real-time environment, helping contractors plan sequences, identify clashes.
3. MR for Client Collaboration
Client wears a headset (like Microsoft HoloLens), walks through a partially constructed home.
Interact with the design - change kitchen layout, try wall textures.
AI adapts the design instantly based on choices, and updates BIM (Building Information Modeling) in the background.
SO WHAT?
Architects will need to be:
- Fluent in tools like Twinmotion, Enscape, Unreal Engine, Unity (for VR/AR)
- Able to guide AI-assisted design tools
- Great storytellers, turning data and 3D models into client-friendly experiences.
THE FUTURE (5-10 YEARS?)
Clients won’t review 2D plans anymore, they’ll expect immersive, interactive design presentations.
AI will co-design with you, and immersive tech will be the bridge between your vision and the client’s understanding.
Construction coordination (with engineers, MEP, contractors) will happen in shared MR environments, not long WhatsApp threads.
PROBLEM 1 – EDUCATION
The education system and government policies maybe outdated compared to technology growth.
Universities and colleges are still teaching for the Industrial Age, but we are living in the AI Age.
- Graduates are learning theories, but companies now want:
- Technical agility (basic coding, data handling)
- Digital literacy (use AI tools, not build them necessarily)
- Adaptability and self-learning skills.
Result:
- Many graduates can't get jobs.
- Many available jobs require skills they weren’t taught.
Overall human employment will be lower in many traditional fields because AI and robotics automate faster than humans can retrain.
HOW TO FIX THIS?
Learn practical digital skills NOW
- Self-learning using free/cheap online platforms - (eg. Coursera , EdX , LinkedIn for Learning , even YouTube )
- Basic AI use (not building, but operating tools)
- Data basics (Excel, Python , Power BI )
- Communication, emotional intelligence.
Develop a side skill or freelance capability
Graphic design, coding, digital marketing, copywriting - platforms like Fiverr, Upwork are growing
Don't rely too much on your qualifications but rather build a portfolio - show proof of what you can do, not just what you studied.
PROBLEM 2 - SEASONED PROFESSIONALS (FROM MID AGE AND ABOVE)
TO BE FAIR - WAKE UP PEOPLE
Those who don't adapt will fall behind faster than at any time in modern history.
Waiting for "the system" to fix itself is risky.
Individuals, families, communities must push for re-skilling urgently otherwise, inequality will explode.
