WEF: robots and software will do half of our work from here 2025

According to a new forecast report from the World Economic Forum, machines and automated software will handle half of all workplace tasks in seven years. But the group said technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and precision medicine could create more jobs than they threaten.

In a study published Monday on executives and specialists from 12 sectors, the WEF concluded that this so-called "fourth industrial revolution" could create 133 million jobs worldwide, while 75 million workers could be displaced.

Saadia Zahidi, head of the WEF's Center for the New Economy and Society, said companies have "a moral and economic imperative" to invest in retraining and continuing education for their employees. "Without proactive approaches, businesses and workers can be losers," she said.

The report is the latest in a series of efforts by academics, consultants and governments to evaluate the impact of new technologies on employment. Previous studies, including a previous WEF, have generally forecast that automation will destroy more jobs than it creates.

The scale of the projected displacement varies enormously between the research groups. A 2015 study by the Bank of England produced some of the darker figures, predicting that 80 million jobs in the United States and 15 million in the UK could be lost from here 2035. A McKinsey report in December the jobs lost and created by new technologies could be about equal by 2030.

In its latest analysis, the WEF stated that the effects of automation could vary considerably from sector to sector and that job losses would be greater in mining companies,

Many new jobs may be less secure than in the past, as companies increasingly turn to subcontractors and self-employed workers, according to the Swiss foundation. He warned that there is a significant gap between the current skills of workers and those that may be required for future roles.

He estimates that more than half of the employees of large companies would need to retrain significantly to take advantage of new opportunities created by digital technology. But it has been said that half of the companies are considering retraining for "key roles" only and only about one third are considering retraining for at-risk workers.

Renowned for organizing an annual summit of business and government leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the WEF based its forecast on a survey of senior executives, He said that these companies accounted for more than 15 million and their savings account for 70% of global GDP.