Monday Buzz: The Jobs the Robots May Steal

“The debate about whether machines will eliminate the need for human employment is no longer just academic,” BBC technology reporter Jane Wakefield declares in this story about automation  (opens in a new tab) that may have you looking at your computer a bit more suspiciously.

Citing predictions by the Boston Consulting Group  (opens in a new tab) that by 2025, one-fourth of jobs will be automated and a Deloitte/Oxford University study  (opens in a new tab) that found 35 percent of UK jobs are already at risk, Wakefield explores which fields and industries are already feeling the impact of intelligent machinery.

If you think the fight between taxi associations and Uber has been intense, just wait until driverless cars enter the fray. And medical organizations have already seen the potential for assistance, and replacement, from robotic aides. And while the results of robotic surgery have yet to achieve perfection, “eventually, when outcomes demonstrate that this is the better option, patients will demand to see the attentive robot, not the overworked doctor, for a fraction of the fee,” author and futurist Jerry Kaplan writes.

And if it’s not included in Wakefield’s story, you can type your job or association’s field of interest into this interactive feature the BBC has put together  (opens in a new tab) to discover the likelihood your position will be automated in the UK. Agricultural and fishing workers, for example, should brace themselves, with a 79 percent likelihood of automation.

Marketing Survey of the Day

When it comes to social media, it’s not about just existing on a platform. Instead, as nonprofit marketing expert Geoff Livingston writes in this blog post  (opens in a new tab), success lies in establishing a distinct presence, and he cites this CMO Survey  (opens in a new tab) to back his claim.

Other Good Reads

Not everyone sees Flash’s demise as a surprise. As Wall Street Journal reporter Nathalie Tadena  (opens in a new tab) writes in this story  (opens in a new tab), many advertising agencies have already been preparing for the technology’s dwindling relevance.

Remember Google Books? The legally contentious project by the search giant has long been the focal point of a challenge from the Authors Guild, and now, New Yorker contributor Tim Wu  (opens in a new tab) has an update on the project’s status  (opens in a new tab).

Want to get to know your Instagram audience? SocialFish‘s Maddie Grant  (opens in a new tab) explores Demographics Pro’s new suite of tools  (opens in a new tab) to discover who is actually engaging with your association’s presence on the platform.

(JD Hancock/ThinkStock)