The World Economic Forumsaid advances in technology could lead to the loss of 5 million jobs globally by 2020.
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Technology could kill 5 million jobs by 2020, warns World Economic Forum
Developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology, would disrupt the business world, killing 5 million jobs in the process, according to the World Economic Forum.
According to the The Future of Jobs Report released on Monday,"[A]s many as 7.1 million jobs could be lost through redundancy, automation or disintermediation, with the greatest losses in white-collar office and administrative roles.”
“The loss is predicted to be partially offset by the creation of 2.1 million jobs, mainly in…Computer and Mathematical or Architecture and Engineering,” World Economic Forum said.
The release of the report coincides with the Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
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The report surveyed Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) of today’s largest employers to imagine how jobs in their industry will change up to the year 2020.
The report said we are now in the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," noting that jobs losses will come about because of developments in artificial intelligence, machine-learning robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and genetics and biotechnology.
Those developments will lead to widespread disruption not only in business models, but also in labor markets, “with enormous change predicted in the skill sets needed to thrive in the new landscape.”
According to the report, White-collar office and administrative roles are expected to suffer the greatest losses, however, there will be a rise in more specialised roles, such as computing, mathematics, architecture and engineering.
The Report finds that business leaders are aware of these looming challenges but have been slow to act decisively.
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65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist, the report said.
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