①The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet, it would be a mistake to think we are right now simply experiencing the painful side of a boom and bust cycle. Certain jobs have gone away for good, outmoded by machines. Since technology has such an insatiable appetite for eating up human jobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can’t immediately foresee.
②When there is statistical improvement in the price and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened. This argument has attracted a lot of attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who both hail from MIT’s Center for Digital Business.
③This is a powerful argument, and a scary one. And yet, John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull and other books, says Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place.
④Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U.S. that tend to be “tightly scripted” and “highly standardized” ones that leave no room for “individual initiative or creativity.” In short, these are the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is how we have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers, Hagel says.
⑤It’s time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, since we are still relying on a very 20th century notion of work, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination “to respond to unexpected events.” That’s not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities.
Questions 1/3
33. Hagel argues that jobs in the U.S. are often ______.
- Aperformed by innovative minds
- Bscripted with an individual style
- Cstandardized without a clear target
- Ddesigned against human creativity
Questions 2/3
34. According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed ______.
- Athe predictability of machine behavior in practice
- Bthe formula for how work is conducted efficiently
- Cthe ways machines replace human labor in modern times
- Dthe necessity of human involvement in the workplace
Questions 3/3
35. Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text?
- AHow to Innovate Our Work Practices
- BMachines will Replace Human Labor
- CCan We Win the Race Against Machines
- DEconomic Downturns Stimulate Innovations
