There should be opportunity in automation

In the past, it seemed we looked to the future with optimism.

Films such as HG Wells’ Things to Come envisioned a world free of poverty hate and misery - a brotherhood of man and a sisterhood of women united and living together in harmony. (Yes, admittedly this came about after a war nearly wiped out humanity, but there are always a few bumps in every road.)

The message was simple: Things are going to get better.

However, it’s a message that’s sometimes hard to pick up in the wake of fooding and fierce storms and a global situation that seems to get darker every day.

On top of that, it appears we’re all heading for unemployment as robots take over our jobs.

A new study by the research firm PwC found that nearly four out of 10 jobs in the United States could be ‘‘vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next fifteen years’’, with each robot added to the workforce taking away between three and 5.6 posts.

Lord alone knows how this will affect us in New Zealand, but presumably you can look forward to seeing C3P0 driving your taxi, R2D2 delivering your pizza, and BB8 fetching your McFlurry.

Stores are set to close - replaced by internet shopping, and pubs will replace young workers with robobartenders (presumably they’ll be taught to ignore me, just like the real ones do).

Now an organisation of international lawyers has warned that greater protections are needed to stop robots stealing jobs as artificial intelligence develops.

But, if all of this makes you want to curl up in bed, there is, apparently, some cause for hope.

‘‘Automating more manual and repetitive tasks will eliminate some existing jobs but could also enable some workers to focus on higher value, more rewarding and creative work, removing the monotony from our day jobs,’’ John Hawksworth, PwC’s chief economist, said.

Not all jobs are at risk. It seems education and health and social care are the sectors least threatened. Basically, kids would run rings around Roboteacher, and The Terminator’s bedside manner is pretty poor.

Also, and consider this, automation can create jobs. There was a 40 per cent rise in the number of banks between 1988 and 2004 as the cost of running them came down thanks to automatic teller machines (ATMs).

Automation also cut the cost of textiles - increasing demand and increasing job growth, and jobs that include a high level of automation, such as software development, are growing.

So, don’t despair just yet. There should be work out there. We’ll just have to be adaptable. Andrew Owen News Director (Mark II)