The number of jobs will gradually increase, but it will be different types of work. In addition, the new jobs are likely to appear in different locations than the jobs replaced by machines, for example outside the current industrial areas.
Again, retraining and adjustments to the education system will be needed to prepare pupils and students for real future work. It will be a new responsibility for countries and companies to create new jobs in the areas where people will be replaced by machines the most.
The development of new technologies has its ethical aspects. Therefore, developers will be more pressured to think about whether what they're doing increases work productivity and people's satisfaction or just blindly replaces people with machines. People aren't just employees but also customers.
This will require expert discussion at national and global levels. One option is to introduce a Universal Basic Income, a system of paying regular cash benefits in the same amount to all people with no conditions.
Just like our ancestors at the beginning of the 20th century, we can't be sure what the industrial revolution will bring. However, the third industrial revolution, which is already behind us, has resulted in higher productivity and more jobs which are even better than in the past. We can achieve this today too.
As a society, we have to make a commitment to responsible technology development. We also have to be able to capitalize on the prosperity we achieve thanks to technologies.
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Article source World Economic Forum - organizer of the Davos meeting of political and business leaders