Skip to main content current edition: International edition The Guardian - Back to home Become a supporter Subscribe Find a job Jobs Sign in Search Show More Close with google Robots Millions of UK workers at risk of being replaced by robots, study says Workers in wholesale and retail sectors at highest risk from breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence, PwC report finds Army of robots increasingly being used for low-skill tasks.
 Photograph: Alamy Robots Millions of UK workers at risk of being replaced by robots, study says Workers in wholesale and retail sectors at highest risk from breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence, PwC report finds Larry Elliott Economics editor Fri 24 Mar ‘17 07.
30 GMT Last modified on Sat 2 Dec ‘17 17.
52 GMT This article is 10 months old More than 10 million UK workers are at high risk of being replaced by robots within 15 years as the automation of routine tasks gathers pace in a new machine age.
 A report by the consultancy firm PwC found that 30% of jobs in Britain were potentially under threat from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI).
 In some sectors half the jobs could go.
--
1 million in administrative and support services and 950,000 in transport and storage.
 Jobs at risk from artificial intelligence The report said the biggest impact would be on workers who had left school with GCSEs or lower, and that there was an argument for government intervention in education, lifelong learning and job matching to ensure the potential gains from automation were not concentrated in too few hands.
 Some form of universal basic income might also be considered.
--
 And this may not be a bad thing if it gives existing workers and businesses more time to adapt to this brave new world,” he said.
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Robots can predict the future … and so can you Topics more on this story Robots could destabilise world through war and unemployment, says UN United Nations opens new centre in Netherlands to monitor artificial intelligence and second-guess threats Published: 27 Sep 2017 Robots could destabilise world through war and unemployment, says UN Robots have already taken over our work, but they’re made of flesh and bone Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger The triumph of ‘digital Taylorism’ means that many jobs in the modern economy have been sapped of their humanity, write professors Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger Published: 25 Sep 2017 Robots have already taken over our work, but they’re made of flesh and bone Robots 'could take 4m UK private sector jobs within 10 years' Royal Society of Arts survey suggests technology could phase out mundane roles, raise productivity and bolster wages Published: 19 Sep 2017 Robots 'could take 4m UK private sector jobs within 10 years' Deutsche Bank boss says 'big number' of staff will lose jobs to automation John Cryan told conference in Frankfurt that accountants could be replaced by machines, while also saying that Frankfurt is ideally placed to benefit from Brexit Published: 6 Sep 2017 Deutsche Bank boss says 'big number' of staff will lose jobs to automation + Robots and AI can bring down pension age, says TUC Published: 4 Sep 2017 Robots and AI can bring down pension age, says TUC + The future of funerals?
 Robot priest launched to undercut human-led rites Published: 23 Aug 2017 The future of funerals?