Part
2
Ongoing
advancements in technology are expected to lead to further job losses
in future. Accountancy firm PwC predict that in the UK up to 30
percent (10 million) existing, mostly low-skilled and manual jobs
could be taken over by robots within the next 15 years.
Economies
with comparable figures are the US (38 percent), Germany (35 percent)
and Japan (21 percent). According to PwC’s chief economist John
Hawksworth “jobs where you've got more of a human touch, like
health and education,” which do not easily lend themselves to
automation are expected to be somewhat protected. Some job losses
could be offset as new industries develop on the back of the growth
in robotics and AI.
However,
there are concerns that workers lacking the necessary skills to
prosper in the coming years could be left behind in this 21st century
industrial revolution, leading to greater income inequality.
Introducing
a universal basic income for all citizens, to create a safety net for
those whose jobs end up being done by robots, has been touted as a
solution. Billionaires Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg
have spoken in favor of this initiative. Branson comments: “Basic
income is going to be all the more important. If a lot more wealth is
created by AI, the least that the country should be able to do is
that a lot of that wealth that is created by AI goes back into making
sure that everybody has a safety net.”
Finland
is currently testing out a two-year scheme to give all citizens €560
a month and parts of the Netherlands, Hawaii and Ontario are
considering, or in the process of conducting small experiments,
giving all citizens a basic income.
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