Can you imagine a future where you will get legal advice or a medical diagnosis from a robot? We have witnessed technology and automation replace manufacturing and administrative jobs, but can robots really perform highly skilled jobs in the areas of medicine, science, engineering and law? It is not that far in the future according to Farhed Manjoo from Slate Magazine, who recently wrote a series of articles on the advances of technology in highly specialized fields of work. After all computers do make the best specialists, don’t they?
I recently heard Farhed interviewed and it got me thinking about the future of work for my own children. My son is in grade nine this year and will be participating in the November 2, “Take Your Kids to Work Day”, along with over 200,000 young people across Canada. What advice can we offer young people about career choices?
Today, there are shortages of workers in many highly skilled professions, particularly in engineering. But what will the world of work be like in ten years when these students are graduating or in another twenty years when they are experienced professionals? Farhed suggests that the highly skilled jobs least at risk of being automated are those that involve a high degree of human interaction – a skill that the robot has not yet perfected.
As humans, we do have some other advantages. We can dream, imagine, think creatively, be flexible, change our minds, use our senses, and have feelings and opinions. We need to tell young people to embrace technology, choose a career that inspires them, be open to new ideas and always be ready for change.
Let me know what you think about this issue on twitter @FusionCareer.
Click here to hear a short interview (found midway down the page), “White-collar Robots”, CBC Spark, Nora Young talks with Farhed Manjoo
Click here to read “Will robots steal your job?” If you are highly educated, you should still be afraid”, Farhed Manjoo, Slate Magazine
