As technology progresses faster and faster each year, it's inevitable that sooner or later you will be faced with the real possibility your job may be replaced by an automated system, computer or some form of robot. As a result of this, a website has been developed that allows you to check how likely a specific job or career will be replaced by machines.
It may sound like an all too familiar plot from a science fiction movie but in reality, it isn’t as far off as you might think. Robots, automated systems, and machines have been replacing humans for decades, from the textile industry to mining and factory work, companys are always looking for ways to reduce costs and increase profits. A classic, yet not too well-known example of this, was in the early 1960’s when Nasa transitioned some departments originally staffed by people over to computers. If you’ve never heard of it, there's a great movie called Hidden Figures, which was released in 2016, detailing the transition, alongside a wealth of other important issues prevalent in the 1960’s.
Fast forwarding to 2017 and things haven’t changed, in fact, the trend of automation is moving faster than ever, with self-driving car technology leading the way. In the wake of this ever-advancing trend, Dimitar Raykov and Mubashar Iqbal decided to develop a website which allows people to check the likelihood a job will be automated, replaced by a robot or some other form of computerized automation.
The website is called Will Robots Take My Job and is very easy to use. Simply click on the link to the page and enter the name of the job you wish to check. If the job you have entered isn’t listed in the database, you will be shown a list of similar options you can choose from. Alternatively, if you are just curious about the entire situation, you can also perform a random job search, by clicking the: Or Show Random Example option.
Once you’ve chosen either of the options, the website will do some quick thinking, you will then be shown some interesting information about the job in question, statistics such as:
- Job Description (some of the current functions & activities performed in that job role)
- Automation Risk Level (shown as a percentage)
- Projected Growth (predicted growth of the job for the next seven years)
- Median Annual Wage
- People Employed in this job. (since 2016)
It’s important to note that most of the data currently used and generated by Will Robots Take My Job is sourced from a report written at Oxford University in 2013 which looks at how automation will impact the job market in the future. According to the report's estimates, it is possible that about 47% of all US employment is at risk for being automated, a statistic that will no doubt have similar figures in other countries as technology advances.
Note: Keep in mind that all the figures, statistics and generated results are current estimates of trends and have the potential to change as time progresses or technology improves/fails.
With so many of the world's jobs at risk of being automated, it's no wonder that the idea of universal income has become such a hotly debated topic in many countries around the world. If you haven’t heard of universal income before, it is a form of social security/welfare where all citizens or residents of a country would receive an unconditional sum of money each month, regardless of their employment status. This payment would theoretically come from either the government or another public institution.