Extinct Jobs

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) analysed the jobs of 20 million people  in England in 2017, and has found that 7.4% of them are at high risk of automation. Furthermore, they have produced a list of 369 jobs in the UK, and the probability of them becoming automated in the future. Each role has been assigned a probability out of 1 based on numerous factors, and the average probability across all the jobs in the country is 0.45.

Below are the five jobs that ONS believe have the greatest probability of becoming automated sooner rather than later.

1: Waiters and Waitresses – 0.73/1 probability of automation

Two years ago in August 2019 London based chain ‘The Tea Terrace’ introduced a robot waitress named Theresa. Since then more robotic waiters and waitresses have been popping up around the country, and as a consequence, they are the human job most at risk of being replaced by automation.

2: Shelf Fillers – 0.72/1 probability of automation

Another occupation at risk of becoming automated is shelf stackers or fillers, with shop workers at the mercy of robot workers. Japanese supermarkets have trialled robots stacking shelves, and this technology could make its way to the UK sooner rather than later.

3: Elementary Sales Occupations – 0.71/1 probability of automation

Along with shelf stackers, other shop workers are at high risk of losing their jobs to automated services. Laborious yet necessary tasks would be one of the easiest to programme into robots and consequently, human manpower could lose out.

4: Bar Staff – 0.71/1 probability of automation

The 2016 sci-fi blockbuster movie Passengers featured a futuristic robotic barman played by Michael Sheen, and although they will probably look very different to the Welsh actor, robotic bar staff might soon become science fact rather than fiction. With many humans leaving the industry due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, hospitality may turn to robots to run their bars and pubs.

5: Kitchen and catering assistants – 0.69 probability of automation

The backbone of the restaurant industry are the kitchen and catering assistants who enable the chefs to concentrate on cooking and perform the other tasks to keep a kitchen functioning. Some tasks that are the responsibility of kitchen and catering assistants are also ones that would be easy for robots to mimic and as such, there is a high probability of automation.

Conversely, there are some jobs that are currently very unlikely to become automated and therefore workers in the following occupations can be less worried by the prospect of a robot revolution than the rest of us.

1: Medical Practitioners – 0.18 probability of automation

Doctors and other licenced medical practitioners are the occupations least likely to become automated, and therefore it is unlikely that a robot will be giving you a physical examination anytime soon. The 0.18 probability of automation means that doctors are .55 less at risk than waiters and waitresses.

2: Higher Education Teaching Professionals – 0.2 probability of automation

The next bunch of professionals least likely to have their jobs become automated are higher education teaching professionals such as university lecturers and professors. As they often have to impart a lot of complex information and answer on the spot random questions, it would be quite a difficult task to automate at present.

3: Senior Professionals of Educational Establishments – 0.21 probability of automation

Education is a theme of the job roles that are unlikely to become automated, as senior professionals in educational establishments such as headteachers have a very low probability of 0.21.

4: Secondary Education Teaching Professions – 0.21 probability of automation

Secondary school teachers make a hat trick of educational professionals who have a very low probability of losing their jobs to automated services anytime soon. As secondary school plays a vital role in the education of the next generation in society, these roles are very important.

5: Dental Practitioners – 0.21 probability of automation

Dentists are next and they also have a 0.21 probability of automation meaning that dentists are currently very secure in their role. Similarly to doctors, robots are unlikely to take over due to the disconcertion and discomfort this may cause to patients in their care.

Stephen Hawking once said that “the development of full artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race”, and this fear is one that has been echoed by many as truly functional AI could become far more advanced than human beings and consequently decide that we are no longer necessary. As technologically more advanced civilisations have wiped each other out for centuries, artificial intelligence could do the same to us.

However, not everyone believes that the creation of artificial intelligence and robotics is a doomsday scenario waiting to happen. In fact, their positive impact upon the world could be incredibly beneficial, this is true in the workplace where artificially intelligent machines could be capable of performing many tasks better than humans.

So how can you prepare yourself for a life where you have to compete for job roles with AI? There are definitely some measures you can take to ensure that you and your job can be safer in a robotic world.

• New Jobs – Although robots can do a lot of work on their own they will still need programming, training and maintenance. And that could be a job opportunity in its own right, if you become skilled in AI training, explaining, or sustaining, you could have a future resume that is robot-proof.
• Personal Reskilling – Although many companies will retrain their workforce to accompany the automated future, some will not. Therefore, to remain uniquely skilled to be employed you should take it upon yourself to learn and acquire new and unique skills.
• Creativity – Even with robots performing many tasks there are uniquely human skills that could set you apart. Many of these include creative and imaginative roles, so think outside the box and act on your inspirations.

• Probability of automation in different jobs all came directly from the ONS data on the subject.
• Advice on becoming AI proof at work used facts from an IBM essay on AI and the future of jobs.