Robots are anticipated to eliminate 6 percent of all US jobs by 2021.
Robotics will become a “disruptive tidal wave” of automation in fields like customer service, transportation, and retail in the not-too-distant future, eliminating up to 6 percent of all US jobs by the year 2021, according to new research from Forrester. The report, “The Top Emerging Technologies to Watch: 2017 To 2021,” identifies fifteen specific technologies to help businesses become customer-obsessed, and highlights the transformative role automation will play for many industries.
The report addresses the rise and increased adoption of artificial intelligence-powered systems that can understand human behavior and make decisions, including technologies like Alexa, Cortana, Siri, and Google Now, as well as chatbots and automated robotic systems. The study finds that these AI systems will become more sophisticated over the next five years, taking over more complex scenarios and roles.
According to CNBC, the report asserts that by 2021, technology will be much better tuned to understanding human language, learning from users, and handling more complex scenarios, all of which will make intelligent agents more useful. This will drive widespread adoption of the technology over the next three to five years.
“By 2021 a disruptive tidal wave will begin. Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and consumer services,” said Forrester’s Brian Hopkins in the report.
The report describes the coming role of AI: “The doorbell rings, and it’s the delivery of a new pair of running shoes, in the right style, color and size, just as you needed to replace your old ones. And here’s the kicker: you didn’t order them. Your intelligent agent did.”
While the report focuses on job loss across industries, Retail to date has seemed to be enthusiastic about adoption AI technology to help better serve customers and reduce costs. From virtual dressing rooms to physical robots and drones to self-driving delivery vehicles, these technologies all have the potential to become standard features of the evolving retail landscape.
