DELICIOUS
SU
REDDITComputers have come a long way since their debut. From the simple devices we used to make calculators and do our census for us to the advanced computers that drive our cars today, our society is becoming increasingly reliant on computers.
It would seem that we are on a trend. As computers get better at doing lots of tasks, doing some of them even better than a human could, the trend seems to be that eventually all human workers will be replaced by computers.
For those of us who have already begun our careers, this threat is many years away, and we don’t have to worry about it. But for those who are very young or those yet to be born, it would be great to try and think about the career options that would be open to them no matter what. As it turns out, no matter how much computers advance, there are careers they can never replace. Here are three of the most important.
1. Legal and Political Professions
No matter how cynical you are about the state of world politics, you probably find it inconceivable that a computer or piece of software could ever be put in charge of a nation, city, or even a small municipality.
Computers can also not be expected to create new laws or perform sensitive duties like asset search, witness cross-examination, legal arbitrations, and so on. Computers cannot be expected to make judicial decisions in court. They can only be used in an assistive capacity by practitioners of these careers but can never replace them. There will always be a great need for human judgment in these fields.
2. Medical Professions
This one might seem a little controversial on the one hand because medicine is one of the industries that have seen a lot of advancement in technology and rely heavily on it. Also, the medical knowledge, data analysis, and technical expertise in medicine could be automated to a great extent by computers, so it would seem that this industry is in danger of being overrun by computers. However, there are things doctors and nurses can do that computers would never be able to do.
Computers do not understand how to use incomplete patient data to make tough calls, what kind of bedside manner to employ in what situation, how to deal with human psychology and so on. Moreover, most humans would not be comfortable putting their lives in the hands of a robot that is capable of malfunctioning and making a fatal mistake. For that reason alone, humans will always have a place in the healthcare industry.
3. The Creative Arts
This is another field that has benefited enormously from advances in technology. Tools like Photoshop have been a great blessing for photographers and graphic designers while others like FL Studio have allowed music producers to give us some great tunes. Yet, for all of their contribution in this field, computers can never take over the creative arts. This is the most fundamental expression of our humanity, and computers cannot fathom it.
Creativity is a human faculty that manifests right from childhood, where humans are capable of abstracting the essence of things and combining them in interesting ways to create novel things. This is something computers are incapable of doing.
Conclusion
Computers have certainly advanced humanity a great deal. In fact, it can be said that they have extended our minds, augmenting our intelligence and capabilities to allow us to achieve more. However, this is how they contribute best to our society as extensions of us, rather than our replacers. There are jobs where they could never do as well as a human.
