Industrial Electronics

The Rise in a Robotic Workforce May Increase Human Jobs

17 September 2018

Earlier this year, a report came out that stated nearly half of the workforce would be replaced by robots by 2035.

This is certainly cause for employment fear. What’s worse is that most of these jobs will be replaced in non-trade areas such as retail or construction, opening up the possibility of a job crisis forming in the next few decades.

However, a new study from the World Economic Forum (WEF) states that while jobs will certainly be displaced by robots, new roles will emerge that will help with the division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms.

The WEF said that estimates indicate 75 million jobs may be displaced by the upcoming robot job revolution globally but 133 million new roles will emerge in order to manage these robotic workers. The WEF said this highlights new adaptation strategies that must emerge in order to facilitate the transition of the workforce from human to robotic and prevent employment predicaments from cropping up worldwide.

This change represents two parallel and interconnected fronts of change in the workforce: first, large-scale decline in some roles as tasks within these roles become automated or redundant; and second, large-scale growth in new products and services—associated with new tasks and jobs—generated by the adoption of new technologies and other socio-economic developments such as the rise of middle classes in emerging economies.

To read the full report from WEF, click here.

To contact the author of this article, email PBrown@globalspec.com


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