The Rise of Robots May Mean Fewer White-collar Jobs

Posted May 10, 2017

Production line employees in the United States have been watching for years as their jobs are replaced by robots. Lawyers may be next.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and Their Impact on the Workplace,” a report from the International Bar Association, warns that artificial intelligence and algorithms may soon replace as many as one-third of graduate-level jobs around the world.

The report breaks the industrial age into four chapters: 1) Industrialization, 2) Electrification, 3) Digitization and 4) Industry 4.0.

The report says the world is now entering the Industry 4.0 stage. In this stage, “special knowledge or a flair for high-quality craftsmanship will become less important, since this work is likely to be done by intelligent software or a machine,” the report says. “Mere knowledge workers will no longer be required; the focus will rather be on how to find creative solutions to problems. Deals will still be made between people in the future, even if the facts may be gathered beforehand by software.”

To protect human jobs, the report suggests governments may want to introduce a “made by humans” label for products, or tax those made by machines.

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