Just been reading an [interesting article](https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/ai-and-the-future-of-design-what-skills-do-we-need-to-compete-against-the-machines) about the types of jobs that could be replaced by machines in the near future.

Ever since the industrial revolution we're seen changes in how people work. Industries like farming have already moved to having minimal people. Tractors and harvesters can operate autonomously with great accuracy and without the need for breaks. We're not seeing self-driving technology move onto the roads. It's a much more challenging environment, but it's developing rapidly. [All new Telsa cars](https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/blog/all-tesla-cars-being-produced-now-have-full-self-driving-hardware) have the necessary hardware and the software will evolve as they collect data from all the cars they have out there.

![Robot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Nao_Robot_%28Robocup_2016%29.jpg)
Image from [Wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nao_Robot_(Robocup_2016).jpg)

Commercial driving jobs will be threatened soon. Truck drivers have strict hours when they can work, but an autonomous truck could drive for 24 hours straight and just stop for fuel. I'm expecting they may have a human on board at least to start with as there are issues with safety and liability.

A lot of repetitive office jobs may go too. If your job involves following strict procedures then those could be programmed into a machine. I'm hoping there will still be a need for developers. A good developer will automate the boring parts of their job to free them for the interesting stuff.

It will be a challenge to find new roles for those made redundant by the machines. Automation will generally be done to save money, so goods and services should get cheaper, but there may also be a desire by companies to take people out of the loop for other reasons. Robots don't strike or demand better conditions.

The [Humans](http://www.channel4.com/programmes/humans) series has been portraying a world where many jobs have been replaced by humanoid robots, but doesn't address what the redundant humans should do. We all need some income to live on as well as having some meaning to life. Ideally we'd all get a basic wage and could express ourselves creatively, but I foresee a lot of bored people.

We live in interesting times.

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