Robots Will Be Taking Over Your Job By 2030, And Here’s What You Need To Know

Well, you’re living in it. This clip was taken from Creator, a brand new restaurant in San Francisco that uses a super canggih robot to cook your burgers. If even chefs are becoming an endangered species, what more all the people with other jobs out there?

According to McKinsey Global Institute, with current and potential technological advancements, the jobs held by hundreds of millions of people could become obsolete by 2030.

Previous revolutions changed the way our world works through steam energy, electricity, and the Internet. Now, The Fourth Industrial Revolution is being powered by connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), and breakthroughs in the physical, digital, and biological spheres. If you’re a teen or young adult, you will more than likely be impacted by this revolution in the coming years.

Soon enough, we won’t be needing cab drivers because all the cars on the road could become driverless. Beyond self-driving cars, we are also seeing a similar trend in shipping services, with the use of autonomous delivery carts or drones.

What you should know:
For now, you should still go ahead and get your P license, because self-driving cars probably haven’t figured out how to drive in Malaysian traffic yet.

This refers to everyday objects that are connected to the Internet, and is known as smart objects or IoT devices. With this technology, you can now receive data you never knew before and give commands remotely. For instance, you can tell how many eggs are left in the fridge and adjust the temperature of the fridge with the touch of an app.

What you should know:
Not only can you tell what's in your fridge, but also where your employees are located. Insigne is an intelligent wireless system designed to effectively track personnel, and was created by Associate Professor Mohd Haris Md Khir from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. So now you have to think twice before you ponteng kerja.

There has been a growing emphasis on building green developments, reducing carbon footprint, and creating self-sustainable environments around the world. In Malaysia, Professor Dr Shamsul Rahman M Kutty from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS has been playing a vital role in coming up with self-sufficient sewage treatment centres. These centres can be placed at remote areas like offshore oil rigs, highway stops, small islands, and eco-tourism centres.

What you should know:
Moving forward, society will continue placing a high priority on environmental sustainability. Companies who have not focused on this area will likely be pressured to implement green policies in the near future.

AI, also known as machine learning, is so much more than Apple’s Siri. AI has been used across industries to take over complex tasks that require a lot of processing, including market analysis, data mining, and even medical diagnosis. In short, AI is helping us accomplish more in way less time and will eventually replace many jobs we now know.

Did you know that besides 3D printing sculptures with custom designs and materials, you can now print life-size houses and even replicate DNA or living cells? As time progresses, more people will have access to 3D printers, and the uses for 3D printing are endless.

What you need to know:
3D printing makes it possible for you to print any object, with any material, wherever you are. This will bring a major disruption in workflows for the manufacturing industry and the shipping industry.

While we aren’t at the level to create superhero suits like those from Ant-Man just yet, nanotechnology has come a long way. By manipulating matter at atomic, molecular or supramolecular scales, nanotechnology has enabled advancements in medicine, electronics, engineering, and many other industries.

What you need to know:
Malaysian inventor Professor Dr Noorhana Yahya, also from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, came up with the idea of Green Urea by applying nanotechnology to ammonia (a byproduct of oil and gas industry) and urea manufacturing, making the process cleaner and more efficient while overcoming problems of leaching and volatility.

In recent years, robotic assistance has been widely used in the medical field, helping paralysed people regain mobility and giving surgeons greater control through robot-assisted surgery. Besides that, all kinds of robots are also being created to take the burden off workers, especially in labour-intensive scenarios.

What you need to know:
Back to the first example of the burger-making robot, the idea for the restaurant, Creator, was not for robots to put humans out of a job. Instead, it was to take the labour out of work, so that humans can focus on things that matter like better customer service or menu innovation.

With greater knowledge of manufacturing, architecture, and engineering, we have been seeing all kinds of enhanced materials being introduced in buildings and products. For one, Professor Dr Faiz Ahmad from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS has been working on cost-efficient, high-performance passive fire protection materials for structures and buildings.

What you need to know:
All in all, we will be seeing more and more new kinds of materials that are stronger, cheaper, and more eco-friendly being produced. The challenge is to be adaptable in these fast-moving industries and be innovators—the ones who dare make a difference.

ESTCON 2018, The World Engineering, Science, and Technology Congress is one of the world’s largest congresses held in Malaysia with ten international conferences running concurrently. Brought to you by Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), this congress features thought leaders from various fields, and is a perfect platform for knowledge sharing, intellectual discussions, and networking.