← IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

Disadvantage of robots: job losses

When robots do tasks that people did, fewer workers are needed, so some people lose their jobs. Workers may need retraining, though new jobs appear in building and maintaining robots.

Part of: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 6.2 Robotics — Module 25

Understanding Disadvantage of robots: job losses in IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

What it does: Factory workers are replaced by robots, so fewer workers are needed. This is how robots cause unemployment. Robots need people to build, program and repair them. These new jobs partly balance the jobs that are lost. Working without breaks is an advantage of robots. Job losses are a disadvantage. Retraining helps workers who lose a task to a robot move into new roles, which reduces the unemployment problem.

Common mistakes: When robots take over 10 tasks, fewer workers are needed, so the number of jobs should go down. It should be jobs = jobs - 10, not +. An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if robots > 10:.

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Learning
Duo
A car factory replaces 200 assembly line workers with robots. What is the likely effect on jobs?
Unemployment, because fewer workers are neededMore jobs, because robots need no workers at all
Matches
Robots never cause job losses because they only work for people.
↓
This is wrong because robots can do tasks that people did, so fewer workers are needed and some people become unemployed.
Applying
Meanings
Term
unemployment
Meaning
When robots do tasks that people did, fewer workers are needed, so some people lose their jobs. Workers may need retraining, though new jobs appear in building and maintaining robots.
Practice
Robots replace factory workers.
Testing
Gaps
workers ← workers 10
Check Answer
Spots
1jobs = 50
2jobs = jobs + 10

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Quick Questions

1. A car factory replaces 200 assembly line workers with robots. What is the likely effect on jobs?
A. Unemployment, because fewer workers are needed ✓
B. More jobs, because robots need no workers at all
Robots doing tasks that people did means fewer workers are needed, so some people lose their jobs. This is unemployment.
2. Which statement describes a disadvantage of using robots?
A. Robots can work all night without a break
B. Workers who are replaced by robots may lose their jobs ✓
Working without breaks is an advantage of robots. Job losses are a disadvantage.
3. Why do robots in a factory cause job losses?
A. Robots do tasks that people did, so fewer workers are needed ✓
B. Robots are always cheaper than paying a single worker
The issue is that fewer workers are needed. Cost is a separate point and robots are not always cheaper, since they are expensive to buy.
4. A factory worker's job is replaced by a robot. What may the worker need to do to stay employed?
A. Retrain to learn new skills ✓
B. Wait for the robot to be switched off for good
Workers who lose their jobs to robots may need retraining so they can do different work.
5. Which is a NEW job created because of robots?
A. Worker who does the same task by hand
B. Engineer who builds and maintains robots ✓
Robots create new jobs in building, programming and maintaining them. Doing the task by hand is the job the robot replaced.

Match the Pairs

unemployment → People lose their jobs because robots now do the tasks they used to do
retrain workers → Teach people new skills so they can do a different job after a robot takes over their old task
A car factory replaces 200 assembly line workers with welding robots, so those workers lose their jobs → robots_installed = 50 workers_needed = workers_needed - 200
Robots create new jobs for people who build and maintain them, so not every job is lost → new_jobs = engineers + technicians
Robots never cause job losses because they only work for people. → This is wrong because robots can do tasks that people did, so fewer workers are needed and some people become unemployed.
Workers who lose their jobs to robots never need retraining. → This is wrong because workers often need retraining to learn new skills, such as building or maintaining robots, to find new work.

Key Term

unemployment
When robots do tasks that people did, fewer workers are needed, so some people lose their jobs. Workers may need retraining, though new jobs appear in building and maintaining robots.

Fill in the Blanks

1. workers ← 50 workers ← workers - 10
Hint: Type the arithmetic operator that reduces the number of workers when robots take over some of the jobs.
2. IF robotsAdded > 0 THEN OUTPUT "Some workers may lose jobs" ENDIF
Hint: Type the pseudocode keyword that follows the IF condition and starts the code that runs when it is true.
3. jobLost ← TRUE retrainingNeeded ← jobLost
Hint: Type the variable from the line above that decides whether workers need retraining.
4. builders ← 10 maintainers ← 8 newJobs ← builders + maintainers
Hint: Type the variable name for the people who look after and repair the robots.
5. workersHave ← 50 workersNeeded ← 40 unemployment ← workersHave > workersNeeded
Hint: Type the comparison operator that is true when there are more workers than the robots leave jobs for.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A jobs = 50
B jobs = jobs + 10
C print(jobs)
Line B — When robots take over 10 tasks, fewer workers are needed, so the number of jobs should go down. It should be jobs = jobs - 10, not +.
Question 2
A workers = 40
B robots = 15
C if robots > 10
D print('Retrain staff')
Line C — An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if robots > 10:
Question 3
A workers = 30
B retrained = 12
C new_jobs = 5
D total = retrained - new_jobs
E print(total)
Line D — Retrained workers and new robot-maintenance jobs should be added to find the total, so it should be total = retrained + new_jobs.
Question 4
A for job factory_jobs:
B if robot_can_do(job):
C remove_worker(job)
Line A — A for loop needs the keyword in between the loop variable and the list. It should be for job in factory_jobs:
Question 5
A def jobs_left(staff robots):
B return staff - robots
C print(jobs_left(50, 5))
Line A — The parameters must be separated by a comma. It should be def jobs_left(staff, robots):

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