Five million jobs at risk from AI and robotics, warns World Economic Forum

Future of Jobs report also warns that the changing labour market will disproportionately affect women as roles get automated

The rise of robotics, artificial intelligence and other technology will result in a global loss of five million jobs by 2020, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

The warning comes shortly after Google chairman Eric Schmidt claimed artificial intelligence has the potential to help humanity solve some of the most difficult challenges it faces.

According to the The Future of Jobs Report, published to coincide with the Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the number of job losses due to the rise of AI and robotics will total seven million, although two million will be offset by new positions in the changing labour market.

The report, based on a survey of chief human resources officers and top strategy executives, dubs the rise of AI and robotics as the "fourth industrial revolution" and suggests that roles in every industry and in every geographical area will be affected.

White-collar office and administrative roles are expected to suffer the greatest losses, while the report suggests that there will be a rise in more specialised roles, such as computing, mathematics, architecture and engineering.

"Without urgent and targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with future-proof skills, governments will have to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality, and businesses with a shrinking consumer base," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The World Economic Forum has also suggested that this fourth industrial revolution could have a disproportionate effect on women. The Forum's Figures indicate that 52 per cent of the 5.1 million job losses expected by 2020 affect men, compared with 48 per cent affecting women.

However, some of those roles that are more threatened by automation tend to be performed by a larger percentage of women, such as those in office administration.

The impact will also be felt more strongly by women due to the fact that they're under-represented in job sectors that are expected to expand, such as computer science, engineering and other STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematical) professions.

Nonetheless, Saadia Zahidi, head of the global challenge on gender parity at the World Economic Forum, argued that the shift could be used as the catalyst to encourage more women to enter STEM professions.

"There is a unique opportunity to address long-existing gender divides in the economy. If we don't take advantage of this, we will see more gender segregation in the workforce, affecting wages and livelihoods, not to mention greater economic inequality in society as a whole," she said.

Ultimately, the report suggests, businesses need to take "more responsibility" for upskilling staff, rather than just "competing on talent".

The World Economic Forum also wants governments to react to the challenge posed by AI and automation sooner rather than later, and to ensure "rapid and fundamental change in education systems" to prepare for the change in global labour markets.

"It is essential that we act collectively now to prepare ourselves for the changes that we know the fourth industrial revolution will bring," said Zahidi.

Gartner analyst Stephen Prentice has previously suggested that a machine could make a better workplace manager than a human because "it always makes the right decision and never has a bad day", and therefore has the potential to improve productivity and end workplace discrimination.