Study: Half of Jobs in the U.S. Could be Automated
An Oxford University study looked at how susceptible jobs are to computerization, and found that “about 47 percent of total US employment is at risk.”
This is a disturbing answer to the frequently asked question of what technological progress really means for the future of employment. The authors of the Oxford study say they are unaware of any other studies to address this question directly. The authors also note that a distinction must be made between “cognitive and manual routine tasks.” They write:
While the computer substitution for both cognitive and manual routine tasks is evident, non-routine tasks involve everything from legal writing, truck driving and medical diagnoses, to persuading and selling. In the present study,we will argue that legal writing and truck driving will soon be automated, while persuading, for instance, will not.
Read the study here.
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