Where Machines Could Replace Humans-And Where They Can't (Yet)

Where Machines Could Replace Humans-And Where They Can’t (Yet) by Michael Chui, James Manyika, and Mehdi Miremadi, Mickinsey & Co.

The technical potential for automation differs dramatically across sectors and activities.

As automation technologies such as machine learning and robotics play an increasingly great role in everyday life, their potential effect on the workplace has, unsurprisingly, become a major focus of research and public concern. The discussion tends toward a Manichean guessing game: which jobs will or won’t be replaced by machines?

In fact, as our research has begun to show, the story is more nuanced. While automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade, it will affect portions of almost all jobs to a greater or...