Will a robot take your job?

What makes a job susceptible to automation?

Certain aspects of a job are simpler to automate than others.

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 think on their feet and come up with creative and original ideas, for example artists, designers or engineers, hold a significant advantage in the face of automation.

Additionally, occupations involving tasks that require a high degree of social intelligence and negotiating skills, like managerial positions, are considerably less at risk from machines according to the study.

In contrast, while certain sales jobs like telemarketers and bank clerks may involve interactive tasks they do not necessarily need a high degree of social intelligence, leaving them exposed to automation.

As more advanced industrial robots gain improved senses and the ability to make more coordinated finger and hand movements to manipulate and assemble objects, they will be able to perform a wider range of increasingly complex manual tasks.

However, manipulation in unstructured environments — like the tasks that must be performed by a house cleaner — are still beyond the scope of automation for foreseeable future.

Sophisticated algorithms are challenging a number of office and administrative support work, particularly in legal and financial services.

Machines are already beginning to take on a number of tasks carried out by legal professionals by scanning thousands of documents to assist in pre-trial research.

Find out if your job is at risk of automation here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34066941