It’s been well documented the artificial intelligence innovations which have improved the efficiency in our day to day jobs. We have seen the introduction of self-checkouts over the years and that has left the vast majority of workers since considering how AI will play a part in future roles. However, in a recent study participated by with 300 people in Germany, it was found that most people would rather lose their job to a robot. The same study also revealed that millions of jobs are likely to be automated in the next 20 years. 

Losing a job is never easy, and to lose it to another person may cause some physiological doubt over your own ability to do a similar job in the future. However, when it comes to somebody else's job, most of them said they would prefer a human to step in - at 62%. Most of the participants felt that if they were to lose their job to another human, it would make them feel ‘de-valued’ and ‘doubtful of themselves’, whereas if a robot was to take over their job, as there is no personal interaction, it would be easier. 

As robots are programmed to carry out activities without fault, humans feel like it would be impossible to compete with them. “This preference reversal occurs because being replaced by machines, robots or software (versus other humans) is associated with reduced self-threat,' say researchers. It seems as if workers may have to get used to the idea of robots taking over future roles, as it is expected that half of the jobs will be automated in the next 20 years across 36 countries. This could mean support programs for those who find themselves unemployed; but with half of the jobs set to be taken over by robots, will we see a complete automated take over one day?