Robots 'are here to give us a promotion,' not take away jobs, says research firm

Gartner's sanguine projections contrast with the warnings on the dangers of AI sounded by top technology industry voices such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk said the global race to lead the development of artificial intelligence could lead to World War III, and cautioned that humans must merge with machines in order to avert becoming irrelevant as AI becomes widespread. Another technology luminary, Kai-Fu Lee, the founder of venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures, said robots are likely to replace 50 percent of all jobs in the next decade. Gartner acknowledged in its report that AI will eliminate "millions of middle- and low-level positions." But it emphasized that more new jobs will be created, including highly-skilled, management positions and even entry-level and low-skilled jobs. "IT leaders should not only focus on the projected net increase of jobs," the report said.