International research shows that as much as one in two jobs might actually disappear in just the next 20 years due to automatization, robotization and such productivity gains. Some researchers even call it things like "the second industrial revolution" or "
the second machine age", thinking it's the most profound change our global economy has witnessed since the radical changes of the 1700s and 1800s.
Examples of such automatizations are already evident in several every day fields. Think of the self-service checkouts at many supermarkets in several countries (Australia and UK particularily comes to my mind from personal experience) or the fully self-driving and self-parking cars having already been developed by Google and others. It's already a huge "industry" (in the development and research stage that is) in particularily the US. Swedish auto maker Volvo has already developed its own self-driving car and they're likely to release their first model within the next few years. In China you have yet other examples. Some restaurant chains (at least one, perhaps more) have already substituted all its "floor workers" for robots. There, robots both prepare the food, as well as serve it at the table. What's even more incredible, researchers have already programmed robots who can provide diagnoses not just quicker, but even more accurately than experienced doctors. Another often mentioned example is the new age of drones. Not just drones for military purposes, but drones in fact as small as flies and the smallest of birds.
Different researchers and statisticians are coming to somewhat different conclusions about exactly how many jobs we will lose to robotization/automatization during the next 20 years:
Statisticians in
Norway say: About 25%
Researchers in
USA: About 47%
Researchers in
Sweden: About 53%
In any case, the changes we will witness will be dramatic and all-transforming. Just think of how many of our future homes will be fully automized, where we can control basically everything away from home through the help of (a click) on internet. Everything from checking what's in your fridge to turning off and on electricity, adjusting for temperature and so much more. The so-called, and rightly much-hyped, "
internet of things".
For more info on the topic in Norwegian, click here:
http://e24.no/digital/fremtidens-arbeidsliv/fremtidens-arbeidsliv-halvparten-av-dagens-jobber-kan-bli-erstattet-av-maskiner-innen-20-aar/23248221
