Here's the best argument that computers could replace doctors, teachers, and even nannies The new new economy

Artificial intelligence is improving rapidly, and a lot of people are worried that it will lead to massive job losses. In the past, technology mostly displaced workers doing routine tasks or manual labor. But as software becomes more sophisticated, there's a growing prospect that truck drivers, teachers, and perhaps even doctors could see their jobs replaced by a robot or a computer program. Ryan Avent is an economics correspondent for the Economist who has been thinking about the economics of automation for several years. He's a technology optimist -- he thinks software and robots really will massively boost economic productivity. But in a new book, he argues that this won't necessarily be good news for ordinary workers, since a glut of underemployed workers will make it harder to bargain for higher pay.