Earth & Beyond 17 October 2014 | Page 2

Robots Taking Over— Is Your Job Safe? E xperts are divided over the role robots of over perfectly split, with 52% white-collar workers. predicting an optimistic “ A number of path, and 48% worrying the about the future. the next decade, with The some arguing that they sioned will create more jobs which robots than they displace, and and others that agents do not they could lead to in- displace more come inequality and a jobs than they create,” respondents breakdown according worrying in social order. The “a envi- future in digital to Aaron that this warned aspect of Smith, the report’s co- technical evolution will findings come from a report by Earth and optimists Beyond, surveyed author. But the pessi- lead to vast increases mistic view was which income inequality, auto- masses of people who two are effectively unem- individuals ployable and the possi- with expertise in artifi- bility of breakdowns in cial the social order.” thousand almost t h a t in intelligence (AI), robotics and econom- mation “will ics, to find out their d i s p l a c e spondents are united predictions for the role significant on one thing: the dis- of automation between n u m b e r s placement of work by today and 2025. The of experts blue- and to continue, and accel- were almost Almost all of the re- both robots and AI is going