To get started with this post, let's first look at the meaning of automation because it might not be what many people think it is. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, automation is the use of machines and computers that can operate without needing human control. A typical example of a sector that uses automation is the manufacturing industry and they are the first to embrace such technology. Think of assembly lines; some sort of large platform that is always moving (like a treadmill) and transporting goods from one area to another as robotic arms carry out different processes on such goods.
Automation is the bane of the manufacturing sector and has made manufacturing of goods a much faster and more efficient process but the downside is that it reduces the number of people that can be employed as most of the work is done by machines while humans are mostly there to supervise and support. But companies and industries don't care about that, they care about something that will be more profitable in the long run and that is automation and the use of machines. The manufacturing sector is not the only one that uses automation but that's the most common.
Agriculture, finance, and transportation also use automation in one way or another. One sector which many people don't know also uses automation and AI is the health sector. We can see its application in things like AI diagnosis, automated medication dispensing machines and so on. Of course, these are all good, considering how something like diagnosis will be much faster with the use of AI. But the one place I feel should never be automated because of its delicate nature is;
Surgery
Imagine this scenario; you or maybe someone close to you is prepped for surgery and you walk into the surgery room to meet a robot whose hands have been modified into a scalpel, tweezers and some other surgical tools, would you be comfortable with going ahead with the surgery? No matter how safe and precise the robot has been vetted by the doctors and scientists around, it can never be a replacement for human doctors. You should know that robots are already been used in surgeries but they are still been controlled by humans and it's referred to as robotic-assisted surgery.
Robots are used for complicated surgeries where precision is needed but as I stated earlier, they are merely tools in the hands of a surgeon and should never be left to act on their own, which is the main idea behind automation. Surgery is a very delicate process where very split-second decisions are made during operations, especially in unexpected situations. Surgeons usually rely on their experience, intuition and critical thinking during such situations and if there's one area where AI suck at, it's critical thinking as they lack that thing which makes us human.
Another downside of using automation in surgeries is a lack of emotional reassurance. Still citing the question I asked at the beginning of this section, everyone would feel uncomfortable if they went into a surgery room and met a robot as the surgeon. Robots and AI don't know how valuable life is, they will sacrifice emotion in place of logic and while that might be a good thing in some areas that need straightforward logic, it has no place in surgery. In the end, even though AI and automation are transforming the health sector, I feel their reach shouldn't be extended to something as complicated as surgeries.
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