Humans vs. Technology: Why Can't We Have Both?

We've heard of companies that, in the name of efficiency and lowering costs, begin using machinery and other equipment to create their product. After using technology, the company realizes that it no longer needs its human workers, and jobs are cut, resulting in unemployment for workers.

Some are pointing to a similar situation that could occur as programmatic media buying sweeps advertising agencies and marketers. By automating the online display ad buying process, doesn't this mean that media buyers will no longer be needed? Is this new tech craze going to kill jobs?

It's important to consider this issue, and on the surface, this problem makes sense. While the trend of programmatic is yet to be known, many are predicting a huge influx of programmatic technologies being used to buy online ads and even TV. We don't know yet where the industry will go and whether jobs will, in reality, be lost, yet some are against programmatic for this very reason. Even industry executives are split on whether they believe jobs will suffer—An AOL survey showed that 57% of executives do not think jobs will be affected.

    
Why can't we all just get along? Source

For me, it's a scary thought—after graduation, the profession I seek to obtain is media planning and buying, so the threat of a new technology that could do my job and thus take it from me is frustrating.

But I don't think the threat is big enough to become a reality. While automation would make things much easier in the online ad world, it certainly isn't perfect, and the need for humans still exists. Here are a few more reasons why I think we can have our technology and keep our jobs, too.

1. Optimization is Key to Avoiding Dreadful Mistakes

A human media buyer knows that running a brand's ads on certain websites or alongside television programs that don't match the brand's persona or ideals is not a good idea (think porn sites or South Park for a family-friendly brand). A computer program may not understand this, even if seemingly foolproof restrictions are put in place. And this has, in fact, actually happened! Some ads have ended up on Jihad YouTube videos and other inappropriate sites. A human controlling the programmatic buy can notice and prevent these types of issues. But humans optimizing campaigns isn't just for avoiding disasters—optimizing campaigns to ensure costs stay low, that the budget is being allocated to specific goals (rather than simply putting all of the budget toward a cheap option), and to ensure placements are congruent with brand image and audience objectives is necessary every day in programmatic management.

2. It's Obvious, but...Computers Just Aren't People

...and they can't do things a human with a brain and a personality can. A computer can't have a conversation with the client to know what the true brand objectives are in order to implement them effectively. A person can. A computer cannot give a presentation to the client summarizing the learnings from a programmatic campaign and make suggestions for the future. A human can. See where this is going?

3. Humans are Flexible

Humans will bend and change with the new technologies that face them. In a few years, a media buyer's role might definitely change (in fact, they are starting to change now), but this doesn't mean all is lost. Caspar Schlickum with iMedia Connection points out that programmatic is providing new opportunities for the humans which relate more to data and technology. Do a Google search for "programmatic jobs," and you'll find numerous companies looking to hire people to work with programmatic technologies. To me, this doesn't seem to show that programmatic is taking any jobs, but rather creating more specialized ones. This means that there may be a gap now in the skills needed to be a media buyer and run a programmatic campaign—the previously mentioned AOL study also showed that more than one-third of the surveyed executives think there is a skills gap that needs to be filled. Media buyers may need to invest some time into learning about this new technology, but that's no reason to run screaming from it.

Neil Pace from McCulloch and Company says it perfectly, "There is no button to push or switch to flip that will just create a media campaign and do all the work for you. Additionally, there will never be a future where all humans will be replaced by robots performing programmatic buys." I see no solid evidence showing that people will be replaced by machines.

Have you had an experience with jobs being created or taken because of programmatic? Share it in the comments!