The Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship sent me a copy of their latest report on the impact of automation on Canadian jobs.

The report, entitled The Talented Mr. Robot: The Impact of Automation on Canada’s Workplace, attempts to look at the Canadian job market over the next 10 to 20 years:

The report indicates that nearly 42 per cent of the Canadian labour force is at a high risk of being affected by automation ”“ the replacement of workers by technology and computerization ”“ in the future. For years, automation has been restricted to routine, manual tasks. The more recent rise of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics means that automation is now entering the realm of cognitive, non-routine tasks and occupations…

I have posted about this before here. The folks at Citi produced an exceptional report along similar lines. You can download their pdf here.

I suspect the transition to fewer jobs for highly skilled people may not end all that well. We are already starting to see what happens when a large part of the population becomes marginalized in terms of employment opportunities.