In fact, Deloitte has previously estimated that 74% of jobs in transportation, 54% in wholesale and retail, and 56% in manufacturing are facing the risk of automation. In September, the transportation industry in the U.S. numbered 1.5 million jobs. That’s a big chunk of jobs in danger. And let’s not forget that America’s manufacturing sector is already shrinking painfully. This economic recovery has seen mostly a swelling of low-paying jobs in sectors such as retail – not a good sign when we’re only going to hand the few jobs we’re gaining over to automation.
This new technology is offering up great investment opportunities for companies in terms of growth and cost savings, but I’m not convinced that it’s going to be creating new jobs as fast as it’s replacing old ones. We’re facing the rise of a dangerous imbalance that could send the global economy toppling over for an extended period of time.