6.5 Researched Argument Graded Draft

man writing with a pen

Objectives:

Develop an argument utilizing a variety of writing techniques, rhetorical strategies and appeals
Incorporate outside sources by summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting
Document sources using MLA
The researched argument is an 8-10 page (2000-2500 words) argument examining an issue you have identified earlier in the course. Unit 3 and earlier weeks of Unit 4 have taken you through many of the preparatory steps for writing this paper. So far you have identified an issue which interests you, completed a working bibliography, developed your position and a claim about your chosen issue, and outlined your argument. Review your previous work and the feedback received from classmates and professor. Please be sure to revise and edit your draft before turning in the final paper.

In this assignment you must demonstrate that you have implemented a research plan; used a rhetorically effective method of organization; formulated, developed and supported a claim using sound evidence, reasoning and appropriate appeals; and incorporated alternate positions into a sustained argument.

Instructions:

In this paper, you will write your argument in response to your chosen topic. Your paper should be based on your ideas; it should not be a summary of what other people say. This is not an informational paper. This paper should develop your argument on your topic. Your paper should clearly identify your issue. It should have a clear claim and well developed reasons. It should use at least 4 appropriately cited quotes, at least 4 appropriately cited paraphrases (you may use more as needed), and a Works Cited page in MLA format.

Please note: Your paper must be more than strung together quotes and paraphrases. It should stand on its own without the quotes and paraphrases. At this point you should be working on a draft of your paper.

Tip: We often suggest that students first write a draft of the paper without supporting sources to ensure that the paper is well developed and relies primarily on your writing and conclusions. Once you have written a draft, you can go back and add in outside sources to support each of your points. Please make sure this first draft is submitted with all of your evidence and the corresponding in-text citations.

Each paragraph should be well developed with controlling ideas and transitions. The logic supporting your argument should be well thought out and sound. There should be a clear flow of ideas throughout your paper.

This paper should focus on your ideas and conclusions based on your research. It should be developed on your thoughts, your plan and your words. Please remember to include in-text citations to indicate any material that is borrowed. Plagiarism will result in failure of the assignment.

Please review the MLA formatting videos offered earlier int he course and textbook pages on MLA formatting.

Other requirements:

Length: 8 (full!) -10 pages plus a Works Cited page and all of the necessary in-text citations
Use of at least 10 sources
Font: 12 point, Times New Roman, Arial or another standard font, Double-spaced
Format: Paper should meet all academic expectations for grammar, sentence structure, and style.
You must use page numbers.
You should develop a clear, useful title.

ANSWER

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Date

Is it ethical to replace human workers with automation?

Introduction

The subject of automation has over the years elicited mixed reactions where there are both supporters and opponents.  Both opponents and proponents of automation in the workplace, where they have points of both the benefits and drawbacks of automation.  In recent times there has been utmost fear that with the increasing automation, there is a high likelihood that people will be overtaken by machines, which will ultimately lead to massive job losses. many argue that for this reason that automation may cause harm to both people and society, and lead to a high rate of unemployment.  The ethical issue of automation is also a major concern, where there are conflicting arguments on the morality of applying automated machinery in jobs which humans could have executed.  Automation is an ethical practice that is designed to complement human efforts to enhance the efficiency of any undertaken work.

Before answering the question on automation and ethics, it is necessary to understand what counts as ethical or not.  The common definition of ethics relates to morality and lies too far better behavior than objects. Automation is an object rather than a behavior, hence raises the question of automation being ethical based on whether the ethical questions are asked due to the creation or due to the use of automation of the software (Think Automation 1). It would therefore mean that the business process of automation is entirely ethical since its key aim is to progress the working lives of thousands of individuals across the globe. It also makes work easier for everyone, hence reduces the complex and tough labor for people.  However, automation could get unethical when it is used incorrectly or in an unethical way, meaning that unethical practices around automation are inescapable.

Automation has multiple benefits that can help make work easier for humans. However, the introduction of automation at the workplace needs to be carefully excepted. This is since failure to handle its introduction carefully can be stressful and unsettling. As a result, such stress could lead to extra harm unless the fears are well addressed (Pham, Madhavan and Righetti 126). The management of firms introducing automation at the workplace needs to be candid with the employees on the need and purpose of installing automation software clear.  Workers ought to get assured that any type of automated software is designed to help them rather than replace them.  Such clarity could be vital in reducing work anxiety, and also reduces cases of the ethical concerns which surround the mental welfare of the employees. The introduction of automation is at a workplace should also be done professionally to ensure that it does not cause panic or cause the employees to lose morale at the workplace for the fear of getting replaced.  The most suitable way of dealing with potential ethical hazards caused by automation would be to ensure that the key purposes of installing the automation software or Artificial intelligence technology are clear.  Employees ought to be reassured of the benefits of bringing such automation into a company to help them appreciate the company more. Explanation and clarification also help reduce workplace anxiety and in turn help reduce the ethical concerns that surround the mental welfare of the employees.

The question of ethics of automation is mainly brought about by the fear of job loss. This is since according to its opponents; the introduction of automation will mean that there will be fewer jobs available. After all, automation is getting more and more capable across all disciplines.   By taking all the jobs, according to the opponents, many will tend to miss out on putting food on their tables, where they will ultimately feel useless in society (Pham, Madhavan and Righetti 126).  They argue that if automation occurs, then it may lead to massive job losses, where they will lack an alternative income getting provided. This as result, according to the opponents is likely to create a huge ethical issue.  They argue that the issue does not only affect individuals but threatens to harm society as a whole (Sutton, Arnold and Holt. 15). Nevertheless, proponents of automation could argue that it is not the automation itself that causes the ethical issues, but rather the aim which it is used.

A major advantage of automation in the workplace is that it may reduce the need for human workers to compete for mundane admin tasks. It however does not reduce the need for the human workers to compete for higher-value tasks, the human touch services, and making critical decisions.  It is nevertheless, not known whether by incorporating automation, then everyone would get freed from the labor market.  Many persons opposed to automation believe that it could lead to a huge revolution, where people will no longer have to work, but rather e lie on a universal income (Beerbaum 1).  As a result, this could result in spending all its time on creative, enjoyable, and benevolent pursuits. It could also help in boosting innovation among people since most of the manual work will be undertaken by automated machinery.  This means that there is a possibility that autonomation could lead to more job creation than it takes, most of which will pay better than the current roles.

            According to proponents of automation, most ethical issues surrounding the topic of automation emerge as a result of failure to remember that the need for automation is to improve on the work of employees.  Many opponents of automation do not remember that it is not the enemy but rather a compliment that matches the work undertaken by humans.  According to Greenstein (1), automation needs to be treated as an associate rather than a replacement.  Therefore, automation is ethical since it is a tool, and therefore is unlikely to be morally ambiguous. By treating it as a tool that aids the workers as opposed to their replacement, then there is no cause for any ethical concerns for the automation software implementation. Those opposed to automation, feel that artificial intelligence is already augmenting human workers. They believe that It has outright taken many jobs that can be handled by humans.  According to a 2019 report, more than 36 million US workers are at a high exposer to impending automation (Think Automation 1). Opponents of automation believe that Artificial intelligence is intending to take all jobs that can be undertaken efficiently and cost-effective tasks that can be performed by robots than by human employees. But along with these considerations are ethical ones, since having a heated public argument over the morality of job displacement can easily impact the company’s reputation, which can consequently affect its profit margins.

Nevertheless,  the debate of ethics of automation misses a key question that both companies and people need to consider, which is the timing of replacing humans with Artificial intelligence. It is integral that business leaders be considerate when timing the deployment of Automation on ethical grounds.  Replacing physically dangerous jobs with automated ones is an example of an ethical move by companies. According to the US Bureau of labor statistics in 2017, there are about 5147 people were killed whole on their jobs (Think Automation 1). This is a clear depiction that in the current times there are still dangerous and life-threatening jobs, which are a result of hazards and accidents at the workplace.  Some of these jobs include roofing, logging, aviation, and fishing, and account for a large portion of work-related jobs and injuries (Pham, Madhavan and Righetti 126). In such circumstances, there is a need to deploy automation to make sure that humans are not placed in tricky situations.

Through automation and the use of artificial intelligence, machines can be programmed to only perform tasks that are repetitive but to also help in emulating human responses, to change the surroundings, and react accordingly. This is an ideal way of saving lives and ensuring that humans are safe. On the contrary, it is unethical for companies to send humans into harm’s ways, where there are technologies that can help make the jobs less dangerous.  Additionally, with the increasing cases of natural disasters such as floods and storms automation will greatly help in ensuring that more lives are saved and that humans are safe from such disasters (Nokelainen, Nevalainen and Niemi. 13). Artificial intelligence technology can help rather than sending humanitarian aid workers who are likely to get into risky situations. They can also perform better tasks of rescuing people from floods and fires, as compared to humans.

Health care is another factor to consider when debating on whether the use of automation is ethical or unethical. It is ethical to find ways of reducing the health care costs, since as the population ages, then the treatments are more expensive.  Provision of quality health care is also ethical since it helps in saving lives and improving the quality of life lived by people. Artificial intelligence can help in addressing such challenges, particularly in the event of diagnosing a certain disease (Sion 6). The use of AI intelligence in health care has been proven to be one of the most effective ways of diagnosing disease and is effective as trained medical professionals. This is since computers have the ability of deep learning, which emulates human intelligence and evaluates patients holistically, which as result helps in finding a sustainable solution to a health challenge. This is proof that the use of automation and modern technologies is an ethical practice in that it could help in enhancing the quality of treatment and ensuring safety amongst humans.

Artificial intelligence has already proven to be one of the best ways of establishing dangerous illnesses in patients as compared to physical doctors. It is also more efficient and comes at lower costs. It is therefore clearly indefensible not to commit to full resources of health care to ensure that applying and building these technologies save lives (Martin, Shilton and Smith 1). Another factor that can help in deciding whether automation is ethical or unethical is Data-driven decision-making. There is a rise in Big data, which entails the readily available information of billions of individuals across the globe.  This has impacted how businesses make decisions, a function that ranges from human resources to finance.

Data informs Artificial intelligence on ways of making a decision. There are therefore legitimate concerns over whether the data is biased or flawed. These issues are vital to the future of the Artificial intelligence debate. Nevertheless, the ethical question should factor in the human imperfections, since humans are the ones who fill the machines with data.  When filing in data, it is natural for humans to be motivated by bias, where they may have racism, sexism, greed d homophobia, among other biases (Sutton, Arnold and Holt. 15). As much as Artificial intelligence may make mistakes, it is unlikely to be biased or embezzle funds from a company. This shows that on the question of ethical conduct automation is likely to be a more ethical way of filing data as compared to physical humans, as a way of avoiding bias.  It can help in reducing the human lack of empathy and self-interest, hence ensuring that a job is ethically conducted, and that results are not prejudiced.

On the flip side, it does not mean that replacing humans with automation is completely ethical and practically simple. However, the issue of automation and the use of AI is an important topic, which will continue to be an important topic for policymakers, businesses, and the wider public due to the shifting paradigm in the functionality of the people and the evolution of modern technology (Wright and Schultz. 823).  However, it is clear that if automation and AI can help in making people’s lives better and reduce human faults then it would be ethical for businesses and institutions to invest in them.

From the arguments, it is therefore right to say that if the ethical issues surrounding automation are both from the failure of remembering that the role of automation is to improve the work of the employees and helps in improving the quality of the functionality of the workers.  Therefore, automation should be seen as a complement rather than a threat to human beings (Nokelainen, Nevalainen and Niemi. 14). It is also vital in that it can be used to protect human lives, in the event of dangerous situations such as natural disasters. Nevertheless, automation should not be ed to replace human workers, since this would deny them their right to work and lead a healthy living.

Conclusion

Automation is an ethical practice that is designed to complement human efforts to enhance the efficiency of any undertaken work. It is a tool that should not be a cause for ethical concern. From the arguments of both proponents and opponents of automation, it is manifest that there is a huge number of factors that ought to be considered when introducing automation or the use of artificial intelligence ta a workplace to make it ethical. First,  the major goals of automation at the workplace should be to improve the working life for the employees and ensure more business efficiency at the workplace.  It also should not be seen as a replacement for the workers but rather a complement to their work, and one that will boost their morale and enhance their productivity at the workplace.  However, automation can become unethical when it is used incorrectly, especially when it renders several employees jobless.

Works Cited

Beerbaum, D. ” Artificial Intelligence Ethics Taxonomy-Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as business case. Journal of Applied Research in the Digital Economy (JADE).” (2019).

Greenstein, Bret. “When Is It Ethical to Not Replace Humans with AI?” (2019). <https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/ai-machine-learning/when-is-it-ethical-to-not-replace-humans-with-ai/a/d-id/1336661>.

Martin, K., K. Shilton, and J. Smith. “Business and the ethical implications of technology: Introduction to the symposium.” (2019).

Nokelainen, Petri, Timo Nevalainen and Kreeta Niemi. “Mind or machine? Opportunities and limits of automation.” The impact of digitalization in the workplace. .” (2018): 13-24.

Pham, Q. C., et al. “The impact of robotics and automation on working conditions and employment.” IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 25.2 .” (2018): 126-128.

Sion, G. ” How artificial intelligence is transforming the economy. Will cognitively enhanced machines decrease and eliminate tasks from human workers through automation?. Journal of Self-Governance and Management Economics.” (2018): 6(4), 31-36.

Sutton, S. G., V. Arnold, and M. Holt. ” How much automation is too much? Keeping the human-relevant in knowledge work. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting.” (2018): 15(2), 15-25.

Sutton, Steve G., Vicky Arnold, and Matthew Holt. “How much automation is too much? Keeping the human-relevant in knowledge work.” Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting 15.2 .” (2018): 15-25.

Think Automation. “Is automation ethical?” (2020). <https://www.thinkautomation.com/automation-ethics/is-automation-ethical/#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20the%20creation%20of%20business,incorrectly%20%E2%80%93%20in%20an%20unethical%20way.>.

Wright, Scott A and Ainslie E. Schultz. ” “The rising tide of artificial intelligence and business automation: Developing an ethical framework.” Business Horizons 61.6 .” (2018): 823-832.