Automation Is Expected to Create Jobs but Only You Can Make Sure You Get One | collaboration | Scoop.it

It doesn’t take much forward thinking to realize that today’s jobs are becoming automated. Robots? Check. Artificial intelligence combined with Internet of Things devices? Check. They are coming and in ways we never thought possible 10 years ago. Who would have thought we’d be talking to chat boxes for customer service, for example?

In general, automation is riding a wave as employers perceive better productivity and lower costs as benefits. Does this move toward a digital workforce mean fewer jobs? Leading economists argue the opposite, that automation will actually increase jobs.

What is different than in the days of weavers and ATMs is that the jobs required now and in the future require higher-level skills. If an argument is to be made against digital transformation, it is that the divide between high-level skills and low-level skills will become wider, with little or no middle ground.