With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, the saying that artificial intelligence will replace humans has become a reality. Not only do low-skilled workers lose their jobs through automation, but artificial intelligence has changed the nature of high-skilled labor, replacing middle-skilled jobs. A small number of mid-skilled workers are allowed to enter high-skilled jobs through retraining, but most are reduced to incomplete workers, deepening the polarization of the workforce. 63% of Korean employment is in the high-risk group, and up to 800 million people worldwide will be unemployed through automation. The mid-skilled zone is moving toward a society that is pale and concentrated in the highest and lowest-skilled areas.
A large retailer in Korea has introduced machines, including unmanned checkpoints, at about 80 stores in the past two years. Mart workers advise customers to use unmanned checkpoints. Employees create contradictory situations in which they are asked to use machines that can replace them. The introduction of the machines “is a choice to increase consumer benefits in line with the rising demand for micropayments by households with one to two persons,” the mart said, adding that existing employees never lose their jobs because they are relocated to other tasks. However, employees who were reassigned to other tasks after the advent of machine had to adapt to new environment and the labor intensity became even stronger. Even if there are employees who quit the company, it will not hire new employees. The phenomenon is also seen in various industrial sectors, including the financial sector and the insurance industry.
“Basic income” can be said as a way to cope with changes in the labor market that will be created by changes in the fourth industrial revolution. While the change in labor and labor environment makes it possible to make a living in a so-called job-free society, unlike the existing public assistance system, it can remove the unemployment trap and increase labor market participation among low-income people. People are interested in “basic income of youth” that Gyeonggi(province of South Korea) provincial government is promoting recently. It will pay up to 1 million won a year and 250,000 won a quarter in local currency for all 24-year-olds living in Gyeonggi Province.
However, basic income should not be paid only to the comfort of young people. Other internships and training programs should be provided together. In addition, mid-skilled workers who have been replaced by machines and lost their jobs will have to come up with retraining program to find other jobs and adjust to society. Artificial intelligence has brought job polarization, but machines cannot completely replace humans. Discussions have to be continued on ways to ease labor polarization and address inequality.
Yujin Oh
Asia Journal
(Los Angeles Times Advertising Supplement)
K-UNIV Reporter
