The Jobs Robots Can't Do (At Least Not Yet)

In the age of artificial intelligence, predicting which jobs will fall to automation is as much about what machines can do as it is about what they can't. More than half of all jobs in America -- both blue and white-collar -- are resistant to automation, according to an acclaimed study published in 2013 by two Oxford University researchers. Co-author Carl Benedikt Frey, who directs Oxford's Technology and Employment program, broke down three areas where human intelligence still beats artificial intelligence: perception and manipulation, social intelligence; and creativity. Each type has what Frey calls a "bottleneck," which slows the pace at which certain workforces can be automated. The premise is simple: Technology won't replace human workers if it can't do the job.