“Hello Champ, ready for today?”
Flora raised a side of her cheek at the grey-haired man standing at her doorway. That smile deepened when he strolled into her room and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Source
“Your wife will not be happy to see you gave me the morning kiss first” he dug his fingers into her sides causing her to giggle until she was out of breath.
“My wife is in an old picture frame in the drawer in my room. She's too far away to notice. But you,” he took her fingers in his hands, meshing them with his “you're here now with me.”
“Thank you, Dad”
“Hurry up and get dressed, Rainbow. We don't want to be late today”
Flora dragged her chestnut hair away from her face and picked up the picture of the smiling woman just by her reading lamp. She stared into the similar brown eyes, running her fingers over the brown hair in the picture.
“It's today Mom. Dad hasn't even let me get enough sleep!” she whined.
“I can hear you!” He called back from the adjoining room. She giggled again.
“Wish me luck,” she said to the picture again, then set it back beside the lamp and hurried up to get dressed.
As she smoothened a stray curl behind her ear, her cell phone beeped.
“Hey,” it was Adrian, her best friend.
“Hey, you were supposed to be here 7 minutes ago”.
She looked worriedly towards her father's room. He had become slower these days because of his arthritis.
“Yeah, I'll be there in 10.”
She rushed over to knock on his door but he was already heading out.
“We have to be quick. I just received a call from Adrian”.
They were just outside as the bell went off for the commencement of the educatory seminar. The topic, ‘The future of AI and robotics on the job market’ had been printed on a banner just outside the hall.
Adrian waved at her the minute she walked in.
“You ready?” She nodded. She didn't know why she was chosen as the one to share ideas on the topic after her bad results for the past two semesters since her mother died, It was probably because she had started to answer a few questions right in class again.
Somewhere across the hall, she spotted Professor Hyacinth welcoming some other professors in the Computer sciences department.
The bell went off for the commencement of the program.
“It is my pleasure to welcome the class representative for this seminar presentation, Flora Russell '' The professor began after the introductory formalities. Flora sighed as she climbed up the stage.
“Good day ladies and gentlemen, the topic posed before us is a delicate one and as such, I would like us to look critically at it without sentiments.” Flora began “Majority of us have access to Artificial intelligence either on our phones or through some other means. We have seen how useful this invention is and how promising the world of robotics appears,” she could see heads nodding in the audience. “I want to open our eyes to the fact that AI and robotics will create more jobs than they replace as humans will be needed to design, build, and maintain these systems. You could also argue that these technologies will enable humans to focus on more creative, fulfilling work, while mundane tasks are handled by machines. This is my first point”
A resounding applause echoed through the hall, she paused to allow the applause to subside before moving on.
“Also, Another impact of AI and robotics on the job market could be the changing nature of work itself. With more automation, jobs may become more task-based and project-based, rather than requiring a long-term commitment to a single employer.” she saw Adrian give her a thumbs up from the back and smiled. “This could lead to a ‘gig economy’ where workers take on short-term projects and tasks instead of traditional jobs. It could also lead to more freelancing and self-employment, as people take on projects that fit their skills and interests.”
Professor Hyacinth was also nodding his head.
“Now to some, these changes will be considered positive while to others; especially the older generation, no offense, it would be regarded as a negative change for workers. But whatever we see it as, we must take into cognizance that the financial economy is rapidly taking a new turn and we must make plans to make this turn with it, so as not to be left behind. Thank you”.
Everyone was on their feet when she was done talking, just like Adrian had told her they would. As she handed the mic over to Professor Hyacinth, he shook her hand and mouthed “Well Done”. That alone meant the world to her.
Reference
Gig Economy: Definition, Factors Behind It, Critique & Gig Work
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