Robots need to move faster to save the world

Alarmists say artificial intelligence will lead to loss of jobs, but underlying demographic trends foretell continuing worker shortages

More than any other factor, fewer workers all but guarantee slower economic growth, so most nations will need more robots just to keep growth alive, says the writer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Not so long ago, authors were churning out dire books on how The Rise Of The Robots would lead to The Jobless Future, amid authoritative forecasts that half of all jobs in the United States would be at risk from automation starting right about now.

Recent employment reports, however, raise a different threat: not whether robots will replace human labour, but whether they will get here fast enough to save the world economy from worker shortages.

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