TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Moves afoot to fix Eskom’s debt problem

      4 July 2022

      Audi South Africa to offer free connectivity upgrades

      4 July 2022

      Shock fuel price increase announced

      4 July 2022

      Wiocc’s data centre business, OADC, appoints CEO

      4 July 2022

      Google’s Equiano cable lands in Namibia

      3 July 2022
    • World

      Tether fails to calm jittery nerves

      4 July 2022

      EU to impose wide-ranging new rules on the crypto industry

      3 July 2022

      Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy

      3 July 2022

      Meta girds for ‘fierce’ headwinds

      1 July 2022

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Machines to handle half of work tasks by 2025

    Machines to handle half of work tasks by 2025

    News By Agency Staff17 September 2018
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Machines and automated software will be handling fully half of all workplace tasks within seven years, a new report from the World Economic Forum forecasts. But the group said technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and precision medicine could create more jobs than they threaten.

    In a study of executives and specialists across 12 industries, published Monday, the WEF concluded that this so-called “fourth Industrial Revolution” could create 133 million jobs globally, while 75 million workers may be displaced.

    Saadia Zahidi, head of the WEF’s Centre for the New Economy and Society, said companies had “a moral and economic imperative” to invest in retraining and continuing education for their employees. “Without proactive approaches, businesses and workers may lose out,” she said.

    Many new jobs may be less secure than in the past, as businesses are increasingly turning to contractors and freelancers

    The report is the latest in a series of efforts by academics, consultancies and governments to assess the impact of new technologies on employment. Previous studies, including an earlier one by the WEF, have generally forecast automation will destroy more jobs than it creates.

    The scale of projected displacement varies enormously between research groups, however. A Bank of England study in 2015 produced some of the bleakest figures, forecasting that as many as 80 million jobs in the US and 15 million in the UK could be lost by 2035. A McKinsey report in December produced one of the rosier assessments, forecasting jobs lost and created by new technology might be about equal by 2030.

    In its latest analysis, the WEF said the effects of automation may vary substantially across industries, and predicted job losses to be heaviest in mining, consumer and IT companies, and less within professional services firms.

    Less secure

    Many new jobs may be less secure than in the past, as businesses are increasingly turning to contractors and freelancers, the Swiss foundation said. It warned there’s a significant gap between the skills workers currently have and those that may be required for future new roles.

    It estimates more than half of employees at large companies would need significant retraining in order to take advantage of new opportunities created by digital technology. But it said half of all companies plan retraining only for “key roles”, and only one-third say they plan any retraining for at-risk workers.

    Best known for throwing an annual summit of business and government leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the WEF said it based its forecast on a survey of senior executives, strategy officers and human resource specialists at 300 global companies, spanning 20 different countries. It said these companies represented more than 15 million employees and their economies represented 70% of global GDP.  — Reported by Jeremy Kahn, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP

    Saadia Zahidi top World Economic Forum
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleTelecoms central to Ramaphosa’s reform efforts
    Next Article BMW morphs iNext electric flagship into an SUV

    Related Posts

    Moves afoot to fix Eskom’s debt problem

    4 July 2022

    Audi South Africa to offer free connectivity upgrades

    4 July 2022

    Shock fuel price increase announced

    4 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    The MSP value proposition has evolved – here’s why it matters

    4 July 2022

    Presenting the cloud finance in South Africa survey with AWCape and Sage

    4 July 2022

    The Equiano cable has landed

    4 July 2022
    Opinion

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.