When machines become workers, what is the human role?

The next waves of disruptive technology such as AI, robotics and virtual reality will create an enormous degree of labour displacement(...) . Not all jobs will be affected, and not all affected jobs will be eliminated. As always, automation will both replace and supplement(...) human labour. However, jobs that are truly untouched will be the exception rather than the norm. We see the future of work evolving in two stages: • The gig economy: The rise of platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, Etsy, Yemek Sepeti, Deliveroo and TaskRabbit has already spawned a gig economy in which non- employee freelancers(...) provide labour in temporary assignments. • The machine economy: The next stage of disruption(...) will be driven by AI and robotics resulting in the mass disintegr ation(...) of labour and the rise of the machine economy. The future of work will disrupt business, government and society in a number of ways: • Disrupting business: The disruption of work is already spawning(...) business model innovation. The ultimate resource that companies will use more efficiently is the human resource. Just as disruption unbundled(...) music albums into songs, it will unbundle jobs into tasks with each task, performed in the most efficient manner. • Disrupting government: Gig economy start-ups are already challenging regulations(...) governing the operation of hotels, restaurants, taxis and more. As the trend accelerates(...) in the machine economy, governments will need regulatory legislation(...) designed for the future. • Disrupting society: Income inequality could be greatly exacerbated(...) by wholesale labour displacement and by the dismantling(...) of key elements of the social safety net, such as jobs for life with accompanying health coverage. Meanwhile, the machine economy promises to deliver an unprecedented(...) “leisure surplus” with profound(...) social implications. We are in the early stages of these shifts, and it’s hard to know exactly how they will play out. History shows that automation surprises us with new sectors and new forms of employment. Just as the digital disruption has spawned jobs for web designers and app developers, the machine economy is likely to generate jobs, companies and even entire sectors that we are unable to envision(...) today. (Reading text adapted from EY)