If a 'robot' could do your job quicker than you and better than you for no pay,
would you still be employed? Today it's travel agents, data-analyst and paralega
ls whose jobs are under threat. Soon it will be doctors, taxi-drivers and, ironi
cally, even computer programmers. Without a radical reassessment of our economic
and political structures, we risk the implosion of the capitalist economy itsel
f.
In a frightening tour of artificial intelligence's rapid advances, technol
ogy expert Martin Ford draws on a wealth of economic data from both the US and t
he UK to outline the terrifying societal implications of the robots' rise. From
health and education to finance and technology, his warning is stark: any job th
at is on some level routine is likely to be automated and if we are to see a fut
ure of prosperity rather than catastrophe we must act now.