Will a robot replace you?

Q. Everyone knows robots will eventually replace factory workers, but as technology advances, what other jobs might be done by machines? A. Massey Business School senior lecturer David Brougham says:

In many cases technology won’t replace workers completely. Employees will prosper when they can harness new technology in their jobs.

If accounting is automated, do we have fewer accountants? Or do their jobs simply change as a result? We have seen the role of accounting change to more of a business consultant.

However, a big concern is how technology, like driverless vehicles, automated food preparation, and more automation in the professions, might displace a large amount of workers in the not too distant future.

Some predictions show that nearly half of all employment is at risk. If you want to see if your job could be affected, examine the list put forward by Frey and Osborn published in 2013.

The relationship of computers and automation to employment is part of the more general relation of technological change to employment.

The most obvious effect is that increases in productivity due to technology can eliminate jobs. This was written by Borodin and Gotlieb in 1972. It is important to keep in mind that history shows that new and different jobs have always been created to replace old ones.

Experts like Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have raised concerns about how technology will impact employment. However, roughly half of the 1896 futurists recently surveyed felt that robotics and artificial intelligence would not displace more jobs than they could create.

Working alongside Professor Jarrod Haar from Auckland University of Technology, I research how employees view the future of their work and how it compares to what futurists predict.

We have found that more than 80 per cent of employees do not think they could be replaced by technology or that technology will impact on their careers.

We believe employees should be mindful of these types of technology in relation to their work, so they can make more informed decisions around their training and employment.