The early 19th century was aptly named the Industrial Revolution due to the influx of machinery used in manufacturing and production of goods. The affect was seen everywhere from textile production to the use of steam power for transportation. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were then named the (Second) Industrial Revolution. This age is characterized by the development of mass production systems for steel and automobiles, among others. Of course, we immediately recognize Henry Ford when we think about mass production of the automobile. The assembly line system was already in use, but Ford improved it by making it a moving assembly line. Each worker was given a specific job to perform while a conveyor belt moved production down the line. People are more productive when given a single task to do repetitively. They become masters at that one thing. But then something came along that was better than a human: machines.

I'm reminded of the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie's dad is replaced with a toothpaste-cap-screwing-on robotic arm. For the company, it was just good business. Machines don't need to be trained, the law doesn't require you to give them a fifteen minute break and they don't suffer from distractions or fatigue. With respect to tedious, repetitive tasks, machines are better than humans in every conceivable way. The initial cost of a large robotic assembly arm would quickly pay for itself compared to paying a person to perform the same job. Most of us can only imagine the amount of panic this must have caused. "Machines are taking our jobs! They are going to replace the need for humans!"

Yes, this movement did cause people to lose their jobs, but in the end it opened up opportunities for new jobs. And nearly a century later we are experiencing a similar "crisis".

Just like how machines are good at repetitive tasks, computers are good at calculations and data management. They can search, store, and retrieve information like it was their... job. They benefit from exponential improvements as observed in Moore's Law and Metcalfe's Law. Humans were tasked with this type of work only because there wasn't a better option. It might take multiple people many hundreds of man hours to complete a task that a mysterious black box can now do in a fraction of the time. And this scares people. Why? Because "[Computers] are taking our jobs! They are going to replace the need for humans!"

Just as in the previous example, I highly doubt this will be the case. When factory jobs were the norm, (most) people couldn't imagine a different reality. In retrospect, we know that people would be needed to repair and maintain the machines and new industries would be introduced to fill the gap (i.e. computers). Why should this time be any different?

We will need more and more people to repair and maintain the computers and new industries will be introduced to fill the gap. The first part is already a reality, but the second part is where the fun begins. What makes humans human? What makes us unique? If nothing else, what can we do that computers cannot?

I suspect it will be our ability to think creatively, ethically, and philosophically. Then applying these modes of thinking in ways not yet know. If you agree that those are characteristics that only humans possess, then maybe, just maybe, computers are allowing us to become more human.

P.S. If you actually read this and want to continue the conversation, shoot me a line and I'd love to connect.