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The Real Story
The pandemic brings more robots
The Real Story
Jul 9, 2021

The world’s major economies are moving again thanks to mass vaccination against the coronavirus. President Biden says a higher demand for workers will help them negotiate increased wages and better conditions. But instead of welcoming them back, many businesses are replacing workers with automation and artificial intelligence - often a much cheaper and more reliable option in the long term. Even before the pandemic, one influential think tank predicted nearly 25 percent of jobs are being lost to automation. And it is believed that the months of lockdowns have accelerated that shift, especially in routine low-skilled jobs that require minimal human interaction. So where is the shift happening and how has the pandemic affected trends? What jobs are under threat, what are educators and policymakers doing about it, and could it actually mean more people doing more creative and fulfilling jobs? Paul Henley is joined by a panel of experts to discuss how accelerated automation is changing the world of work.

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The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory

The Global Story is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.

This episode was made by Peter Goffin, Neal Razzel, Beth Timmins and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Matt Hewitt. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.


26min 39sec

The pandemic brings more robots

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