THIS refers to the report ‘Aging Japan wants automation, not immigration’. It tells us that despite having 2.8pc unemployment, Japan wants automation in the form of robots and artificial intelligence.

This can be equally applied to Pakistan where unemployment is high and there are serious challenges of unemployment for qualified youths and skilled workforce. This necessitates tapping of technological advancements for job-seeking youth.

There is a misconception that the application of robots and artificial intelligence will create more unemployment. The fact is it will boost production and create more jobs.

The recent example is that of the United States where 156,000 jobs were provided to unemployed persons in August 2017 besides automation in their industries.

There is a dire need to switch over to automation if we want Pakistan to compete with the world. Since we are under a threat of terrorism, use of robots is mandatory for bomb detection and other allied tasks.

There is no dearth of talent as our youth can design and fabricate robots if provided resources. The programmed CNC machines can also reduce rejection. One hopes our policymakers will follow Japanese model to get socio-economic benefits in the real sense.

Riaz Akbar

Wah Cantt

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017