Work

The Compass

• Episode: Work
• Website: The Compass
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035w97h/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:26:31
• Published: 2018-07-04 05:00

What humans do to earn a living has always evolved to suit the needs of society, and the capabilities of the technology at our disposal. But thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence and automation we are on the cusp of a whole new Industrial Revolution. Manual and low skilled labour are already feeling the impact of automation – Amazon is experimenting with delivery drones, the fast food industry may soon be staffed with burger-flipping bots, and driverless vehicles are already taking to the road. But those with high skill jobs should not rest on their laurels – legal services, medical care, and academia are all set to change as computers take over all the data crunching. People are either going to have to find new things to do, or risk being left behind as the world of work changes. Aleks Krotoski and Ben Hammersley find out how we can all continue to be gainfully employed for years to come. They investigate which jobs will remain in high demand, how developing our uniquely human abilities will help people stay one step ahead of the machines, how to acquire the skills necessary for jobs we cannot even imagine yet. (Photo: A robot that can understand Chinese, English and Russian to provide information for guests works at the Media Center of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Qingdao. Credit: Getty Images)