What will I learn about: how advanced technology is shifting the traditional boundary between tasks that require professional experts and those we can now manage ourselves?

Understand how advanced technology is shifting the traditional boundary between tasks that require professional experts and those we can now manage ourselves.

What will I learn about: why society historically granted professionals exclusive autonomy and trust in exchange for their specialized training and ability to keep the public safe?

Discover why society historically granted professionals exclusive autonomy and trust in exchange for their specialized training and ability to keep the public safe.

What will I learn about: Learn how the internet has democratized access to expert knowledge, and why many professionals resist this transparency to maintain their exclusivity and justify high fees?

Learn how the internet has democratized access to expert knowledge, and why many professionals resist this transparency to maintain their exclusivity and justify high fees.

What will I learn about: how automation and teleprofessionalism are making services more efficient, enabling feats like remote surgery and freeing experts to tackle more complex tasks?

Find out how automation and teleprofessionalism are making services more efficient, enabling feats like remote surgery and freeing experts to tackle more complex tasks.

What will I learn about: Explore how digitized systems are already revolutionizing complex industries like tax preparation by distilling the expertise of hundreds of specialists into accessible software?

Explore how digitized systems are already revolutionizing complex industries like tax preparation by distilling the expertise of hundreds of specialists into accessible software.

The Future of the Professions

How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts

Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind

★ 3.8 / 5(94 ratings)

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Technology & the Future

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the centuries-old 'grand bargain' between society and professionals like doctors and lawyers is fundamentally breaking down?
💡Have you ever wondered why high-level expertise, once the exclusive domain of human professionals, is increasingly being outperformed by automated systems?
💡Are you curious about which professional roles will thrive—and which will vanish—as the internet dismantles the traditional way we share expert knowledge?

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Key Takeaways from The Future of the Professions

✓Understand how advanced technology is shifting the traditional boundary between tasks that require professional experts and those we can now manage ourselves.
✓Discover why society historically granted professionals exclusive autonomy and trust in exchange for their specialized training and ability to keep the public safe.
✓Learn how the internet has democratized access to expert knowledge, and why many professionals resist this transparency to maintain their exclusivity and justify high fees.
✓Find out how automation and teleprofessionalism are making services more efficient, enabling feats like remote surgery and freeing experts to tackle more complex tasks.
✓Explore how digitized systems are already revolutionizing complex industries like tax preparation by distilling the expertise of hundreds of specialists into accessible software.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from The Future of the Professions

Mind Map

The Future of the Professions

The Traditional Model+

The Technological Disruption+

Automation and Big Data+

Industry Examples+

The Economics of Knowledge+

Standardization and Challenges+

The Future of Professional Work+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7

Why does society traditionally grant professionals autonomy over their specific fields?

A. Because they possess the financial resources to manage their own institutions and schools.
B. In exchange for their trained expertise, trusted character, and commitment to clients' best interests.
C. Because the government lacks the technological infrastructure to regulate complex industries.
D. So they can establish profitable monopolies and dictate market prices to consumers.

Question 2 of 7

According to the text, why do professionals often resist the democratization of knowledge brought by the internet?

A. They unconsciously or consciously want to maintain the exclusive power and intellectual distance of their chosen fields.
B. They genuinely fear that online information is highly inaccurate and poses a severe danger to public safety.
C. They lack the technical skills required to navigate online communities and digital platforms.
D. They believe that artificial intelligence will eventually replace all human interaction, damaging society.

Question 3 of 7

How does the automation of routine professional work primarily benefit the professionals themselves?

A. It allows them to completely eliminate administrative staff and reduce overhead costs.
B. It guarantees them a fixed income regardless of the number of hours they actively work.
C. It enables them to take on more clients without having to learn new technological systems.
D. It frees them up to focus on more complex, intellectually rewarding, or unique tasks.

Question 4 of 7

What key advantage do supercomputers like IBM's Watson have over human professionals in fields like medicine?

A. They possess greater emotional intelligence and bedside manner when dealing with patients.
B. They can legally prescribe medications without requiring a human doctor's oversight.
C. They can process and synthesize massive amounts of constantly updating research much faster than any human.
D. They are completely immune to the biases that typically affect human medical research.

Question 5 of 7

The text describes knowledge as 'nonrival'. What does this mean in the context of professional expertise?

A. Its value does not decrease when it is shared with others; in fact, it often grows.
B. It cannot be legally protected by intellectual property laws or patents.
C. It is impossible to prevent someone from accessing it once it is put online.
D. It eliminates the competitive nature of traditional professional markets.

Question 6 of 7

While standardization and digitized knowledge make expertise more accessible, what new societal challenge does this create?

A. It forces universities to completely abandon traditional degree programs.
B. It raises complex questions regarding liability, maintenance, and intellectual property rights if a system fails.
C. It makes it impossible for small businesses to compete with large, automated corporations.
D. It causes a permanent decrease in the overall number of jobs available in the economy.

Question 7 of 7

How does the text address the fear that technology will lead to a decrease in the number of professional jobs?

A. It confirms this fear, suggesting professionals must secure their positions by unionizing against automation.
B. It argues that the economy has a fixed quantity of work, meaning machines will inevitably replace humans.
C. It suggests that the government will need to provide a universal basic income to support displaced professionals.
D. It dismisses the fear, stating that while traditional roles will change, technology will give rise to completely new forms of employment.

The Future of the Professions — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Professionals are granted autonomy in a particular field in return for trained expertise.
3Expert knowledge is now online and easy to access, but professionals are less open-minded.
4Advanced technology will spur automatization and innovation throughout the professions.
5Technology has revolutionized tax filing, much to professionals’ annoyance.
6Ever more sophisticated machines will take over wider and wider areas of professional work.
7Knowledge spreads naturally and becomes more valuable as it reaches more people.
8Standardization at work will cut costs and make expertise more available and dependable.
9As technology progresses, traditional professions will evolve and new jobs will emerge.

The Future of the Professions Summary & Overview

The Future of the Professions (2015) examines how modern technology and the internet have revolutionized our society. These blinks in particular address how technology has changed the way society views the work of experts, the so-called professionals. The role of such experts is evolving quickly; here you’ll discover just what the future of professions will look like.

Who Should Listen to The Future of the Professions?

Entrepreneurs and managers in the tech business
Coaches who work with C-level executives
Anyone interested in how technology is changing how we work

About the Author: Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind

Richard Susskind holds a chair on the Advisory Board of the Oxford Internet Institute and is the president of the Society for Computers and Law. An international speaker and expert advisor on information technology and the law, he is also the author of The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services.

Daniel Susskind is Richard Susskind’s son and a lecturer in Economics at Oxford University. He has worked for the British Government, in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and as Senior Policy Advisor at the Cabinet Office.

The Future of the Professions

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to The Future of the Professions — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from The Future of the Professions

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

The Future of the Professions — Full Chapter Overview

The Future of the Professions Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to The Future of the Professions?

About the Author: Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind

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