Federal report: AI could threaten up to 47 percent of jobs in two decades

Enlarge / Semi-automated trucks are driven on the E19 highway in Vilvoorde, Belgium, on April 5, 2016 as part of the'EU Truck Platooning Challenge 2016.' This week, scientists and economic advisers to President Obama released a report on artificial intelligence, including the effects of automation on the US job market and economy. While the report notes the significant potential for wealth gains from increased productivity due to AI, it also warns of threats to existing jobs and an exacerbation of the wage inequality between lower-skilled, less-educated workers and those with higher skills. In recent decades, automation has already claimed occupations such as those of switchboard operators, filing clerks, travel agents, and assembly line workers, and it is now on the cusp of replacing driving-related occupations such as taxi and Uber drivers. Automation will probably move into the trucking industry within a decade (3.8 million US jobs are related to driving).