Algorithms want your job
ADVANCES in technology mean that even highly educated workers will begin to feel the pinch of the digital revolution, with close to half of United States jobs at risk of ‘‘computerisation’’ in the next 20 years.
Machines and computer programs have taken routine, repetitive tasks from the jobs market, but increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence could result in a new wave of job losses.
‘‘Occupations that require subtle judgment are also increasingly susceptible to computerisation,’’ University of Oxford researchers Carl Frey and Michael Osborne say.
‘‘To many such tasks, the unbiased decision-making of an algorithm represents a comparative advantage over human operators.’’
They also note that algorithms, created by software designers, are putting IT workers out of work.
The study estimates that 47 per cent of US employment has a 70 per cent to 99 per cent chance of being computerised in the next two decades. These estimates can be similarly applied to other developed countries.
Of the 700 jobs analysed, telemarketing, sewing, watch repairs and library work are among the most at risk, with a 99 per cent chance they will be computerised.
Those working as recreational therapists, audiologists, healthcare and social workers and dentists look to be the safest, with a less than 1 per cent chance of their jobs being computerised, the study found.