Will a Robot Take my Job?

The time we live in is amazing. We are surrounded with human-looking robots which can do almost everything for us. There are driverless cars, chatbots which take our orders and drones able to deliver packages.

Headlines unanimously trumpet that robotics and artificial intelligence will soon displace the human employees. So-called new industrial revolution makes people of different professions worry about losing their jobs. Yet, tech support operators experience the greatest fears in this respect. So, will robots really replace human workers? And do they fit the bill?

Though there is a lot of hype about automation, tech support will always need human technicians. There are some reasons for this:

 Customers prefer to deal with human tech support.

According to surveys, people don’t trust robots especially when it comes to solving their problems. They find it unpleasant and feel uncomfortable relying on a machine to get an advice or guidance.

Automation advocates have raised the question to substitute tech support workers with chatbots not once. But their attempts failed as most customers poorly rated chatbot-based tech support service. Psychologists explain this with people’s need to feel human presence. It is obvious, that the tendency for tech support to become more automated and remote will only increase in time. Still, many people, especially older ones will continue to demand human technicians not those emotionless machines.

Another reason why customers want a human tech support is they need a real person to pour their wrath. There the shocking truth comes out. Customers prefer human tech support as they require flesh-and-blood being to express their frustration feelings.

Tech support will help human workers, not replace them.

Originally, people have designed robots and AI as useful tools, not as their own substitutes. The idea is that humans and robots should work together: people controlling them and technology performing programmed functions.

Machines can’t solve the problems requiring creativity, critical thinking, initiative and quick reactions to new and unpredictable situations. So, the idea that robots can really replace human workers sounds rediculous and silly.

Certainly, tech support is a stressful and tense work. It is not easy to be the company’s face and handle angry customers. But you can be sure that despite automated customer service increase human technicians still have the future. Cold and unfriendly machines can’t fully replace human workers in the area with a great demand for human contact.