The trend that began with ATMs and do-it-yourself checkouts is moving at
lightning speed. Everything from driving to teaching to the care of the
elderly and, indeed, code-writing can now be done by smart machines.
Conventional wisdom says there will be new jobs to replace those we
lose - but is it so simple? And are we ready?
Technology writer and think-tank director Nigel Cameron argues it's
naive to believe we face a smooth transition. Whether or not there are
"new" jobs, we face massive disruption as the jobs millions of us are
doing get outsourced to machines. A twenty-first-century "rust belt"
will rapidly corrode the labor market and affect literally hundreds of
different kinds of jobs simultaneously.
Robots won't design our future - we will. Yet shockingly, political
leaders and policy makers don't seem to have this in their line of
sight. So how should we assess and prepare for the risks of this unknown
future?