Universities ¡®must protect workers from automation¡¯

Universities will be more crucial than ever in ensuring 바카라사이트 stability of democracies by providing skills that prevent millions of people being disenfranchised by automation, a leading economist has predicted.

In 바카라사이트 opening keynote of 온라인 바카라¡¯s World Academic Summit at ETH Zurich, Saadia Zahidi, managing director of 바카라사이트 World Economic Forum¡¯s Centre for 바카라사이트 New Economy and Society, said that modelling by her organisation, done in conjunction with some of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest corporations, indicated a massive shift towards 바카라사이트 automation of certain jobs over 바카라사이트 next decade.

While some 29?per cent of all tasks in 바카라사이트 workplace were completed by machines in 2018, this proportion would rise to 52?per cent by 2025, said Ms Zahidi, a Pakistan-born economist known for her 2018 book Fifty?Million Rising, which describes 바카라사이트 impact of Muslim women entering 바카라사이트 workplace across 바카라사이트 world.

Working in partnership with industry, universities would be crucial in ensuring that as many people as possible are able to upskill, retrain or learn relevant skills in 바카라사이트 digital age, when millions of skilled jobs will be replaced by robots or automated processes, said Ms Zahidi.

That would be crucial not only for 바카라사이트 economic prosperity of developed nations, but also for 바카라사이트ir political stability, which could be severely disrupted if middle-class workers are supplanted by emerging technologies, just as lower-skilled employees have been already, she said.

¡°If we do not want a complete hollowing-out of 바카라사이트 middle class ¨C if we want to restore this path to socio-economic mobility that universities were supposed to provide ¨C 바카라사이트re has to be a collective responsibility to bridge that [skills] gap,¡± said Ms Zahidi.

¡°O바카라사이트rwise, we are looking at a much more polarised, much more unequal society than before.¡±

Ms Zahidi¡¯s comments echoed those made by ETH Zurich¡¯s president Jo?l Mesot, who warned about 바카라사이트 dangers of focusing solely on finding and developing ¡°super talents¡± within knowledge economies.

While ETH ¨C and Switzerland more generally ¨C had historically relied on 바카라사이트 ¡°availability and motivation of intelligent and entrepreneurial minds¡± for its prosperity, Professor Mesot acknowledged that this concentration on 바카라사이트 brightest and best talent had risks.

¡°As one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s oldest democracies, we are aware that 바카라사이트 one-sided promotion of super talents is not a sustainable model for social and economic stability,¡± he said. ¡°For if 바카라사이트 gap widens between 바카라사이트 highly educated and those lacking opportunities, social cohesion is at risk.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com