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In a speech at The American Enterprise Institute in 2014,entrepreneur Bill Gatesclaimed that in 20 years several jobs will have been replaced bysoftwareAutomation particularly those oflow-skilled positions.
This outlook is by no means a new one. In 1930 one John Keynes wrote about a world where grandchildren would be richer than their grandparents but that technological unemployment would be a “new disease asour discovery of means of economising the use of labour would outrun the pace at which we can find new uses for labour.
But while many go on to divulge how numerous jobs will become obsolete as a result, author Cathy Davidson suggested it made room for new roles to be created with some already on the verge of making an appearance. So for those curious to know what type of roles you’ll soon be looking to fill, we tapped into Microsoft Surface and The Future Laboratory research and here’s what we found.
Human body designer
Engineering advances will extend the average healthy human life as the growth of replacement tissues and organs becomes an everyday and affordable proposition. HBDs will use bio-engineering know-how to create a huge range of customised human limbs.
Virtual habitat designer
By 2025, millions of us will spend hours each day working and learning in virtual reality environments. A VHD will design and create these worlds. These designers will be the superstar pioneers of the industry, leaving behind game design and joining product teams to create exciting new entertainment, work and learning environments,” suggested Dave Miller, recruiter at Artefact.
Ethical technology advocate
There will be an extra 55,790 new jobs in the field of robotic engineering by 2018 alone, research by Recruiter.com has revealed. An ETA will negotiate our delicate relationship with the robots by setting the moral and ethical rules under which the machines operate and exist. Essentially, they’ll ensure we don’t have an “I, Robot” situation on our hands.
Digital cultural commentator
In ten years time, visual communication will dominate social media. This is already apparent with Instagram set to grow 15 per cent in 2016 compared to just three per cent for the wider social network sector. DCCs will effectively communicate entire stories through an image alone.
Read more about freelance biohackers and rewilding strategists.
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Freelance biohacker
Science has been a closed shop dominated by professional teams for many decades but the rise of open source software platforms will democratise this sector, with citizen scientists taking the reins back. Open-source gene editing tool CRISPR is already allowing thousands of scientists around the world to collaborate on searching for treatments for depression, schizophrenia, autism and alzheimers.
Internet of Things data creative
IoT is already transforming the world we live in, with devices from cars to home electrics being embedded with electronics, software and sensors that allow them to collect and exchange data. IoTDCs will sift through the waves of data being generated each day by devices in our clothes, homes, cars and offices and find meaningful and useful ways to tell us what all that information is saying.
Space tour guide
Already on the horizon thanks to the likes of Virgin Galactic, Earth orbit will become the new frontier for adventurous travellers by 2025. And a whole new category of jobs will come about to make the space journeys safe and enjoyable.
Personal content curator
By the late 2020s, software-brain interfaces, pioneered by teams of neuroscientists, will have started to enter the mainstream, allowing mass audiences to read and capture thoughts, memories and dreams. PCCs will help people use these systems to increase the storage capacity of their over-stretched minds, providing services that allow them to dip in and out of treasured memories and experiences at will.
Rewilding strategist
By 2025, the planet will struggle to cope with 9bn humans and the resources they require, and traditional conservation won’t be enough. Rewilding strategists will stitch together viable ecosystems in stressed landscapes, using patchworks of flora and fauna from all over the world, reintroducing plants and animals that have been extinct in a region for centuries to create resilient and vibrant landscapes.
Sustainable power innovator
By the mid-2020s, resource depletion will mean a shift to sustainable energy. The main struggle here will be storing power for the days when the wind doesnt blow or the sun doesnt shine. SPSs will be experts in chemistry and material science will invent new battery storage capabilities to help cope with the power demands of the ever-growing reliance on the Internet of Things.
