The Robots Are Coming! audiobook cover - The Future of Jobs in the Age of Automation

The Robots Are Coming!

The Future of Jobs in the Age of Automation

Andrés Oppenheimer

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Corporate CultureTechnology & the Future

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The Robots Are Coming!
The Automation Threat+
Manufacturing+
Transportation+
Retail & Service Sector+
White-Collar Automation+
Healthcare+
Knowledge Work Transformation+
The Future Economy+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10
According to the 2013 Oxford University study mentioned in the text, what is a sobering prediction regarding the US economy?
  • A. Automation will create 47 percent more jobs by 2033.
  • B. Up to 47 percent of current jobs could be eliminated by 2033 due to automation.
  • C. The manufacturing sector will lose 95 percent of its workforce to China.
  • D. Universal basic income will be required for 47 percent of the population by 2025.
Question 2 of 10
What is the general rule of thumb mentioned in the text regarding a job's likelihood of being automated?
  • A. The lower the salary of the job, the more likely it is to be automated.
  • B. The more physical strength a job requires, the more likely it is to be automated.
  • C. The more routinized and repetitive a job is, the more likely it is to be automated.
  • D. Jobs in the service sector are always automated before jobs in the manufacturing sector.
Question 3 of 10
Why are Western corporations increasingly tempted to build automated factories in their home countries rather than relying on Chinese factories?
  • A. To take advantage of new tax incentives offered by Western governments.
  • B. Because Chinese regulations strictly prohibit the use of fully automated factories.
  • C. Because human labor in the West has recently become cheaper than Chinese labor.
  • D. To eliminate international shipping costs while benefiting from cheaper robots and high productivity.
Question 4 of 10
What is a primary reason customers, especially younger ones, are driving the implementation of touch-screen ordering devices in fast-food restaurants?
  • A. The touch-screens offer specialized discounts that cashiers cannot provide.
  • B. Customers generally prefer using the devices over talking to a human behind the counter.
  • C. The devices are legally required for nutritional transparency.
  • D. Customers want to support the transition to a fully automated economy.
Question 5 of 10
How is automation expected to impact the accessibility of legal services for consumers?
  • A. It will make legal services more affordable and accessible to lower-income individuals.
  • B. It will drive up the cost of legal services due to expensive AI licensing fees.
  • C. It will restrict legal services only to large corporations that can afford robot lawyers.
  • D. It will eliminate the need for legal services entirely by standardizing all contracts.
Question 6 of 10
What underlying societal trend is accelerating the closure of physical bank branches?
  • A. The increasing strictness of international banking regulations.
  • B. A shortage of qualified human tellers and financial analysts.
  • C. The transition toward a 'cashless' society where financial transactions are conducted electronically.
  • D. The public's growing distrust of traditional banking institutions.
Question 7 of 10
As automated systems and AI take over medical diagnostics and routine check-ups, what will become the primary role of human doctors?
  • A. Programming and repairing the medical nanobots and robotic surgeons.
  • B. Performing the routine physical examinations that machines cannot physically do.
  • C. Managing the hospital's administrative and financial operations exclusively.
  • D. Acting as human mediators to counsel patients and explain automated diagnoses.
Question 8 of 10
How did The Washington Post utilize the AI program 'Heliograf' during the 2016 US elections?
  • A. To conduct in-depth interviews with presidential candidates.
  • B. To write mundane, routine news stories about local election races using templates and data.
  • C. To sift through millions of leaked financial documents to uncover political corruption.
  • D. To predict the overall winner of the election based on social media sentiment.
Question 9 of 10
With robots potentially taking over the function of transmitting knowledge, what will human teachers primarily focus on in the future?
  • A. Grading standardized tests and managing classroom discipline.
  • B. Cultivating 'soft skills' like curiosity, empathy, and ethical behavior.
  • C. Teaching students how to program and maintain educational robots.
  • D. Providing physical education and sports training exclusively.
Question 10 of 10
Why are the entertainment and culture industries predicted to flourish in the automated future?
  • A. Because robots are currently incapable of creating any form of art or music.
  • B. Because governments will mandate cultural education for all citizens.
  • C. Because people will have significantly more free time due to fewer working hours or unemployment.
  • D. Because entertainment jobs are the only ones that do not require technical skills.

The Robots Are Coming! — Full Chapter Overview

The Robots Are Coming! Summary & Overview

The Robots Are Coming! (2019) provides a wide-ranging survey of the rapidly approaching – and, in many cases, already emerging – future of automation. In the coming decades, sophisticated robots, computer programs and other forms of automated technology will eliminate many jobs in many fields, and will radically transform the jobs that remain. Andrés Oppenheimer takes us on an insightful and eye-opening tour of some of the key industries to be affected and the major transformations that lie ahead.

Who Should Listen to The Robots Are Coming!?

  • Skeptics who wonder if the robots really are coming
  • Pessimists who fear the future they will bring
  • Optimists who hope they will unlock new possibilities for humanity

About the Author: Andrés Oppenheimer

Andrés Oppenheimer is an award-winning journalist, the Latin American editor and syndicated foreign affairs columnist for the Miami Herald, the anchor of Oppenheimer Presenta on CNN en Español and the author of seven books. In 1987, he was one of the co-winners of the Pulitzer Prize for his work as part of a team of Miami Herald journalists who uncovered the Iran-Contra Scandal. He also won the Inter-American Press Association Award in 1989 and 1994, as well as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists prize in 1997.

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