Brexit voters more likely to live in areas at risk from rise of robots

Brexit supporters are more likely to live in areas most threatened by the economic impact of automation, according to a study of the impact of robots and artificial intelligence in the workplace. A map of the parts of the UK likely to be hit by automation fits more closely with the map of leave voters than any other factor, said the Institute for the Future of Work (IFW). Up to 15 million workers are expected to have their employment prospects endangered by automation over the next decade, according to a series of reports that have tried to gauge the impact of new technology in the workplace. In 2015, the Bank of England estimated as many as 15m jobs would need to change or be lost through automation. A report by the consultancy firm PwC found that 10m, or 30%, of jobs in Britain were potentially under threat from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence In some sectors half the jobs could go, it warned.