Will Robots Really Take Your Job?

The truth about automation and the jobs of the future.

(Image Credit: bbc.com)

Automation is scary!

It seems like every year there is a report saying that half of the current human employees in the United States are at risk of being replaced by software and steel.

• In 2016, the World Economic Forum reported that US jobs losses could range “from 22.7 million job losses by 2025 to 80 million over the next few decades.”
• In 2017, McKinsey & Company reported that 51% of working hours ($2.7 trillion in wages) could currently be automated.
• In 2018, PwC (formerly Price Waterhouse Cooper) reported that close to 40% of US jobs were at risk of automation by the end of the 2030s.

With stats like those, who wouldn’t be worried about losing their job to the shiny new machine that doesn’t take lunch?

But do we really have to worry about machines taking over the workplace, or are these fears overblown?

The answer is as complex as the human workforce itself, so let’s dive right in.

The Fear of Replacement

Replacement by automation has been on our minds since the first machines were installed on automobile factory floors, making precision welds while…