If you saw our list of least stressful jobs of 2017 and considered a pivot into a new profession, you may want to reconsider. It sounds like science fiction, but while you're planning your future, you may want to factor in the possibility of automation — namely, whether or not your job will get taken over by a legion of robots.
You may think that jobs outside of assembly lines and manual labor are safe, but according to Fast Company, a lot of unexpected vocations may be taken over by robots in the future. The magazine reports that "automation, which includes both mechanized robots (whether humanoid or drone-shaped) and artificially intelligent software programs, are predicted to eliminate 6% of the jobs in the U.S. in the next five years." Think you're safe as in law or finance? Think again. Deloitte predicts that 39% of legal jobs could become automated in the next decade. As for number-crunchers, a study found that accountants have a 95% chance of losing their jobs to tech.
The report adds that Japan's Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance has already replaced 30 medical insurance claims reps with IBM's Watson Explore, which the company claims is faster and more accurate at analyzing and interpreting data than humans. And when was the last time you actually walked into a bank? With ATMs already cutting into human jobs in that field, the addition of smartphone banking is sure to be the death knell for many bank branches. As for higher-ups at those banks, financial analysts were once seen as indispensable, but CNN reports that up to 30% of jobs in the finance sector could be replaced by AI.
If that has you packing up for and researching exactly what it would take to run a farm, know that the agriculture industry is under attack from robotics, too. Modern Farmer reports that a family owned German dairy farm installed a "Voluntary Milking System." It allows cows to sidle up to robots and get milked at their leisure, eliminating the need for those braided milkmaids and humans in general. Stateside, Quartz reports that over 1 million farm workers are at risk with the introduction of machines that can weed fields and pick produce.
Did you see Rogue One? Audiences were treated to a cameo from Peter Cushing via CGI, which means that soon, we could have entire movies starring computer animated actors. Think about it: a computerized Tom Cruise could star in Mission: Impossible movies aimed at your great-great-great-grandkids.
It's not all bad news. Phil Burton-Cartledge, program leader for sociology at the University of Derby in the U.K., insists that careers in the creative, technology, or health-care industries can rest easy. Since decision-making and building relationships are so integral to those fields, getting a robot in those roles just doesn't compute.
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