Beating The Bots

- Peter Griffin

If you are worried about robots taking your job, it’s time to stop fretting and decide what you are going to do about it. That doesn’t mean taking up arms against our would-be robot overlords.

The forces of artificial intelligence and automation are unstoppable and are already reshaping employment. AI software can detect breast-cancer tumours on X-ray scans as effectively as doctors, and driverless cars on Californian highways have fewer accidents than human drivers.

A host of mundane, process-driven jobs will disappear in factories and accounting firms alike. But new jobs will emerge. In 2013, the US Department of Labour forecast that 65% of children at school would eventually be employed in yet-to-be-created jobs. There were no social-media managers and application user interface designers before the internet arrived.

The question is how great the disruption to the workforce will be, and how rapid. Various studies suggest 30-40% of jobs could be automated to some degree.