HOW CAN HUMANS COMPETE WITH ROBOTS?

When we think of robots, the first thing that comes to our mind is – how will these robots replace us in our job roles? Whatever the answer, the second question is almost certainly: How can I ensure that my job is not threatened? A team of researchers from EPFL and economists from the University of Lausanne has released research in Science Robotics that provides answers to both issues. They created a method to assess which of the already existing tasks are more likely to be done by machines in the coming years by merging scientific and technical publications on robotic capabilities with employment and income information.

They have also developed a mechanism for proposing career transfers to professions that are less vulnerable and need the least amount of retraining.

Prof. Dario Floreano, Director of EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent System says that numerous studies have been conducted to estimate how many professions would be mechanised by robots, but they all shine a spotlight on software robots, like voice and picture recognition, chatbots, financial adviser robots, and many more.  Moreover, based on the kind of work needs and software skills that are measured, such projections might vary dramatically. We take into account, not just artificial intelligence technology, but also genuine intelligent robots that execute physical tasks, and we devised a mechanism for comparing human and robotic capacities in lots of vocations.

Read more