Robot Apocalypse not so soon: First wave of automation won't lead to job loss

Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are set to disrupt business models across the board and are seen replacing humans somewhere down the road.

A recent survey by KRC Research revealed that automation actually holds real business potential, despite differing viewpoints among business leaders and employees.

In the survey, 52 percent of business leaders against 29 percent of employees said that they are interested in workforce automation.

Business leaders and employees alike agree on the advantages of automation, but employees seem to be more concerned to risks it poses compared to leaders.

"Despite the media’s fascination with the so-called “Robot Apocalypse,” the first wave of automation won’t result in massive job displacement," the report said.

"On the contrary, our findings suggest that automation will actually free up business leaders and employees to spend more time perfecting work projects (41 percent) and improving client relationships (33 percent). Only a small handful of respondents (6 percent versus 3 percent employees) believe their entire job could be automated," it added.

Here's an infograph summarising the responses from business leaders and employees on the various aspects of automation.