报告称美国有25%的工作机会有被机器抢走的危险

Report: 25 Percent of US Jobs at Risk of Being Lost to Machines

A new report predicts up to 25 percent of American jobs face a “high risk” of disappearing due to future machine automation.

The report was recently released by the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Researchers identified about 36 million U.S. jobs as having “high exposure” to automation.

Among jobs facing the greatest risk are those in office administration, production, transportation and food preparation, the report says. Jobs in these fields may be replaced with technology driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Mark Muro is a senior fellow at Brookings and the lead writer of the report. He told the Associated Press that people in these jobs will need to react to these changes to survive. “That population is going to need to upskill, reskill or change jobs fast,” he said.

Muro said some of the jobs could disappear quickly -- within a few years. Others could last another 20.

Smaller cities and communities at risk

The report predicts job losses to machines will be greater in smaller cities and communities, especially in parts of the U.S. Midwest.

The highest job risk is expected to be in Indiana and Kentucky. Both states have some communities where nearly half of workers are employed in the manufacturing and transportation industries. Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa are also expected to suffer large losses.

On the other hand, large cities in the U.S. northeast -- including Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston -- will see much lower job losses to machines.

Young, male, uneducated, and Hispanics

Young people who work in the food services industry and other low-skilled jobs face an especially high risk for automation.

Mark Muro said jobs aimed at assisting the public will increasingly be turned over to robot helpers. “Restaurants will be able to get along with significantly reduced workforces,” he said. “In the hotel industry, instead of five people manning a desk to greet people, there’s one, and people basically serve themselves.”

Underrepresented minority groups are also likely to be affected¹ by machine automation. “Young workers and Hispanics will be especially exposed,” the report predicts.

Among the jobs with the lowest risk of being lost to automation are in business, engineering, social services, education and management, the report found.

Some economists² believe machine automation has an overall good effect on the labor³ market. Matias Cortes is an assistant professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. He was not involved in the Brookings report.

Cortes told the AP that automation can create economic growth, reduce prices and increase demand. He also said new jobs can be created to make up for those that disappear.

However, he added that there are likely to be “clear winners and losers.” In the recent past, those hardest hit were men with low levels of education who held manufacturing and other blue-collar jobs. Two main groups of women were also affected: those with lower levels of education and those working in administrative⁴ positions not requiring high skills.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

automation – n. the control of something using machines and not people

exposure – n. situation in which someone is affected by something because they are in a particular place or situation

artificial intelligence – n. ability of a machine to use and analyze⁵ data in an attempt to reproduce human behavior

significant – adj. important

greet – v. welcome someone

blue-collar – adj. relating to jobs that require physical work

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

5 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。