The robot takeover of the world may not be as dramatic as we thought. It won't come in the form of explosions, but rather in the form of employment.

    In a classic scenario of the student surpassing the master, our eagerness to make robots that are increasingly sophisticated and capable of truly remarkable tasks has, perhaps, rendered ourselves rather redundant, if not altogether obsolete. "Technology appears to be resulting in faster, wider and deeper degrees of hollowing-out than in the past," said Andy Haldane, the chief economist at the Bank of England. Because the machines of today can not only perform menial tasks, but are also capable of creative thought, humans may no longer be able to compete.

    "These machines are different," Haldane told CNN. "Unlike in the past, they have the potential to substitute for human brains as well as hands."

    So what jobs are most at risk? According to an Oxford University study published last year, loan officers, receptionists, paralegals, salespeople, drivers, security guards, fast food cooks, bartenders, and financial advisers all risk at least a 50 percent chance of being automated. And at this year's Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles, Amy Webb, a digital media futurist and founder of Webbmedia Group, suggested adding marketers, journalists, and lawyers to the mix too.

    But still, Haldane notes, humans don't really have all that much to fear. Just because robots replace the jobs of today doesn't mean that we won't create new ones for tomorrow. "Humans will adapt their skills to the tasks where they continue to have a comòparative advantage over machines," he noted. Although to be fair, "The smarter machines become, the greater the likelihood that the space remaining for uniquely human skills could shrink further."

    So let this be a lesson to you, current and future college students. Pick a major that isn't duplicable by robots. It may be the only way to stay competitive come the 22nd century.

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    过时的

    guòshí de

    obsolete

    no longer in general use

    可复制的

    kě fùzhì de

    duplicable

    capable of being duplicated

    经济学家：机器人将替代人类50%的工作

    机器人接管世界不会像我们想象的那么戏剧化。它们不会诉诸暴力，但会抢我们的饭碗。

    在学生赶超师傅的经典桥段中，我们急于制造更加复杂、能完成复杂任务的机器人可能只会使我们自己更加不被需要，如果不是完全无用的话。英格兰银行首席经济学家安迪·哈尔丹说：“技术与以往相比呈现出更快，范围更广和更深程度的空心化。”因为今天的机器不仅能做无需技巧的任务，还能创造性思考，有时人类也无法与之竞争。

    安迪告诉CNN说：“这些机器不一样，不同于过去的那些机器，他们有能力替代人类的双手和大脑。”

    那么什么工作最有风险呢？根据牛津大学去年发表的研究显示，贷款员、接待员、法务助理、销售员、司机、警卫、快餐厨师、酒吧服务员和财务顾问，这些工作都有至少50%的几率被自动化。在今年洛杉矶的米尔肯研究院全球会议上，韦伯媒体集团的创始人和数字媒体未来主义者艾米·韦伯认为营销人员、记者和律师这些岗位也存在被替代风险。

    但哈尔丹说，人类没必要惊恐。因为机器人代替人类今天的工作不代表我们明天不能创造新的工作。他说，“人类将到新领域中发展技能，仍比机器人有优势。”尽管公平来说，“机器越智能，需要人类独特技能的空间就越小。”

    所以敲响警钟吧，现在和未来的大学生们。选择一个不能被机器人替代的职业。这可能是在22世纪保持竞争力的唯一途径。