With the invention of the computer, more and more we see jobs that used to be done by a human person slowly being replaced by computerized systems. In some applications, computers help to speed up the processing of huge data 
bases in a way that no human could ever dream of.
In cases such as this, the use of computers in the workplace is a good thing. It can dramatically increase productivity and in the end, that usually means an increase in the profit margin as well. On the downside, more and more machines are starting to take over the jobs that real people used to do. These jobs that are being lost are ordinary people like you and me that still need to pay their mortgage and electric bill.
So the big question still remains to be answered. Will this influx of computer systems eventually replace us? First, let us look at how annoying it is when you call a big company like your cell phone provider or a credit card company. You are greeted with an automated system instead of a friendly human on the other end of the line. It is one of the most annoying things in the world. Then, half the time the system does not even work right and cannot even identify you as a customer. Probably the most devious part is how they hide the option to talk to a real person. This is all the result of computer automation. These automated systems have ultimately eliminated thousands of jobs and have made calling almost any company a huge annoyance.
As another example, lets look at the retail sector. Stores have tried to force people to use self-checkouts for several years now. The plan was again to use a computerized system to replace real people. This has never really taken off. When people check out in a store, they want a real person to take the money, not a machine. If you go to a store that has these devices, you will see that most folks will wait in line instead of going to an unused self-checkout. For the most part, these devices go unused all day long.
Computers today play a huge part in the retail market. More and more people are not even starting their cars to go the nearest mall to do their shopping. Sites such as Amazon have almost eliminated the need to leave your house. You can even do your food shopping online. This is great for convenience but it is putting millions of jobs at risk. More and more brick and mortar stores are struggling because of the increased use of online purchases. Slowly but surely this is causing retail chains to close stores and in turn many jobs are being lost at the cost of technology.
I think one of the best examples of computers eliminating jobs is the United States Postal Service. This is an essential service that needs to remain as part of our culture. People are more and more opting for e mail and Facebook contacts instead of the much more personal and satisfying letter that arrives in your mail box. This behavior has already cost our country many jobs and is leading to the near collapse of the mail system, as we know it. I am not saying we should not use E Mail but rather use a combination of both so we can support and maintain an American Institution that has been around since the beginning of time.
In summary, I do not think that computerized systems will be taking over the world any time soon. Our society needs and wants to be able to directly communicate with real humans, not machines. If anything, I would like to see more companies offer more personable service with a real person rather then using a machine. There still will be improvements in technology as time goes on but there is only so much a computer can do. They still need humans to program them so we should still remain the dominating species on earth, at least for the time being.
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