Last week (27th March, 2024) the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warned that almost eight million UK jobs could be lost to artificial intelligence in a “jobs apocalypse”.
Based on analysis of 22,000 tasks in the UK economy, the report claims that 11 per cent of these tasks (largely routine cognitive tasks such as database management) are already at risk, but that a second wave of AI could begin to impact more skilled roles, estimating that in a worse case scenario as much as 59 per cent of the tasks currently performed by workers could be taken over by AI.
In this week’s poll we’re asking for your views on the rapid evolution of AI might mean for engineers, and whether you’re concerned that your own role might - sooner rather than later - be automated out of existence.
Perhaps you side with conventional industry wisdom which tends to claim that whilst engineers will undoubtedly need to learn new skills, AI will create more opportunities than it will destroy, making us more productive and freeing up more time for innovation and creativity. Or perhaps, as some are warning, the unchecked development of AI poses an existential threat that could one day see us all on a scrapheap of our own making.
Whatever your views on this issue please cast your vote in this week’s poll and join the debate by submitting your comments at the bottom of this page.
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