Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

This prescient classic shows how automation is changing the economy, undermining work, and reshaping our lives. 

A New York Times bestseller and winner of the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 

"Lucid, comprehensive and unafraid ... an indispensable contribution to a long-running argument." ―Los Angeles Times  

What are the jobs of the future? How many will there be? And who will have them? As technology continues to accelerate and machines begin taking care of themselves, fewer people will be necessary. Artificial intelligence is already well on its way to making “good jobs” obsolete: many paralegals, journalists, office workers, and even computer programmers are poised to be replaced by robots and smart software. As progress continues, blue and white collar jobs alike will evaporate, squeezing working – and middle-class families ever further. At the same time, households are under assault from exploding costs, especially from the two major industries – education and health care – that, so far, have not been transformed by information technology. The result could well be massive unemployment and inequality as well as the implosion of the consumer economy itself.

The past solutions to technological disruption, especially more training and education, aren't going to work. We must decide, now, whether the future will see broad-based prosperity or catastrophic levels of inequality and economic insecurity. Rise of the Robots is essential reading to understand what accelerating technology means for our economic prospects-not to mention those of our children-as well as for society as a whole.

Martin Ford is a futurist and the New York Times–bestselling author of four books about artificial intelligence and its implications for the job market and economy. His TED Talk on the future of artificial intelligence has been viewed more than three million times. He has written about AI for publications including The New York Times, Fortune, The Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.