IoT Will Take Away Many Jobs, But Surely Not Everyone is at Risk?

Will the power of technology end up taking away jobs of people in the future? At the entry level, it will.

Will the Internet of Things be a job-breaker? (Photo: iStockphoto)

Smart automation devices will ruin everyone’s lives by taking away their livelihood, and will rule the world. We’ve heard this kind of doomsday stuff before, but it looks like this time the threat is serious. 

According to reports, the Internet of Things (IoT) could end up eating into the jobs of more than 1.2 crore Indians by the year 2021. When you compare this number with the overall population of India, we’re looking at a small minority of the workforce.

Food for Thought

What does IoT really stand for?

IoT involves connecting multiple devices, which can be controlled remotely with the help of mobiles and the internet. 

Most of the IoT-enabled features are currently available to the super rich who live in fancy villas or apartments. Or they are used by enterprise companies with security as the major focus.

Huawei is pushing IoT big time. (Photo: The Quint)

Everyone has the right to fight for his/her own livelihood, but when the option of smart machinery is there, chances are that you will be ignored because of the profit motive.

So, are we to think of technology as a threat?

Who Are We Kidding?

We talk of IoT as if the trend is in full force and the end is nigh. On the contrary, IoT is yet to hit its strides, especially in countries like ours.

IoT security spending will initially be moderate. It will rise to $547.2 million in 2018. Then it will gain real momentum after 2020, as improved skills, organisational change and more scalable service options improve execution.

<a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3291817">Gartner Report</a>

This is how IoT looks to consumer. (Photo: The Quint)

It is important to remember that these are global figures and it is impossible to tell when the transformations in the Indian market will take place. It may be too soon to panic, just yet.

India’s IT services industry would lose 6.4 lakh “low-skilled” jobs to automation in the next five years. Low-skilled jobs will fall by 30 percent.

<a href="https://www.hfsresearch.com/press/automation-impact-14-million-global-services-jobs-2021-india-most-affected"> HfS Report</a>

You have been replaced by a machine. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Fair to say that jobs will be lost, especially in the entry-level positions. However, this doesn’t mean that jobs won’t be created elsewhere as the report says:

Medium-skilled jobs will increase by 8 percent and high-skilled jobs will rise by 56 percent.

<b><a href="https://www.hfsresearch.com/press/automation-impact-14-million-global-services-jobs-2021-india-most-affected">HfS Report</a></b>

So before we complain that machines are ready to take over the world, maybe it is best to remember who created them in the first place.