A study looking into how susceptible jobs are to automation has revealed the work of underwriters more likely to succumb than that of brokers.
The joint study, undertaken by researchers at Oxford University and Deloitte, found about 35% of current jobs in the UK are at high risk of computerisation over the following 20 years, according to
BBC News.
While brokers, actuaries and legal professionals were all rated ‘quite unlikely’ at 5%, 15% and 3% likelihood respectively, insurance underwriters were rated as ‘fairly likely’ at 66%.
The study points out that social workers, nurses, therapists and psychologists are among the least likely occupations to be taken over as assisting and caring for others, which involves empathy, is a crucial part of the job.
Roles requiring employees to think on their feet and come up with creative and original ideas, such as artists, designers or engineers, hold a significant advantage in the face of automation.
Occupations involving tasks which require a high degree of social intelligence and negotiating skills, like managerial positions, are also considerably less at risk from machines, according to the study.
However, sales jobs like telemarketers and bank clerks are highly exposed to automation because while they may involve interaction, they do not necessarily need a high degree of social intelligence.
As industrial robots become more and more advanced, with more sophisticated coordination, they are able to perform a wider range of increasingly complex manual tasks.
Machines are already beginning to take on a number of tasks carried out in the legal world by scanning thousands of documents to assist in pre-trial research.
The top three jobs most likely to be replaced by a robot were:
- Telephone salesperson
- Typist or related keyboard worker
- Legal secretary.
The three jobs least likely to be replaced by a robot were:
- Education adviser and school inspector
- Hotel and accommodation manager or owner
- Publican or manager of licensed premises.
You can check out the list
here.
