Why Robotics Will Destroy Millions Of Jobs In Coming Years, But Create Just As Many

The World Economic Forum, or WEF, said robotics and machinery will eliminate tens of millions of jobs over the next five years, but create just as many – perhaps more -- through the emergence of new technologies. The WEF, an international nongovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, said in a survey-based report that accelerating automation will wipe out 85 million jobs across 15 industries and 26 economies by 2025 – but concurrently create 97 million new jobs, particularly in the fields of data, artificial intelligence, content creation, the "green" economy and cloud computing. Still, the WEF conceded that such a dramatic disruption of labor markets could initially increase inequality and pressure companies around the world to quickly retrain workers in order to compete. "[Jobs] in areas such as data entry, accounting and administrative support are decreasing in demand as automation and digitization in the workplace increases," WEF said. "[Approximately] 50% of employers are expecting to accelerate the automation of some roles in their companies."