Digitalización, robotización, trabajo y vida: cartografías, debates y prácticas

Abstract

As an introduction to this monographic issue, this article reviews the ‘state of the art’ about the effects of the digitalization and robotization processes on the future of work and employment. A critical review of two dominant approaches on whether a future massive technological unemployment will emerge or if, on the contrary, there will be a displacement of workforce to new jobs with digital tasks and qualifications, with winners and losers of digitalization. A first approach is named replacement digitalization, which predicts the inevitability of massive technological unemployment due to disruptions of new digital technologies (and Industry 4.0) in labor and work processes, which will eliminate multiple occupations and their jobs because their automation. A second alternative approach will be named as task digitalization, defending that digitalization does not eliminate complete occupations but rather specific tasks of jobs, pushing the elimination of some jobs and the creation of new jobs that will increase the global employment figures. It will be emphasized that both perspectives coincide in the appearance of losers and winners of digitalization, with a need to intervene in the training and lifelong learning structures for the human factor. Finally, a technological design strategy named integration digitalization will be considered, considering Industry 4.0 as an opportunity to reinforce the collaborative use of new digital technologies with the reskilling of human factor.