Robots Coming to a Workplace Near You

How well do you work with robots? The future will have no room for Luddites. According to Cisco, by 2020 there will be 50 billion devices connected to the Internet. While this may spark concern about job automation, our very own favorite visionary, Jason Corsello, says that the Internet of Things offers massive opportunities. "The Internet of Things stands to employ an entirely new set of workers, while helping current employees across all sectors develop new skills that can be applied to a their jobs today," Corsello says. However, if some of your new coworkers are machines, what new skills will be required for the jobs of tomorrow? Corsello predicts that many jobs will become more hybridized and that workflows will run more smoothly and intuitively. Here are some existing jobs that Corsello predicts will result from integration with the Internet of Things:

Hybrid Doctor: What if your doctor could receive an alert when your blood pressure reached a certain point and an appointment could automatically be scheduled? With connected wearable devices that track patient vitals, this possibility isn't too far off in the future. Doctors "will need to work with these devices and patients to provide the most efficient healthcare possible," Corsello says. "Troubleshooting will be something these doctors will come across, so harnessing how connected things will interact with the human body should be part of Medical School 101 in the coming years."

Hybrid City Planner: According to Corsello, "City planners will be imperative to creating the cost-effective and energy efficient city of the future." Last year, the UK included "Smart Cities" as a part of its Information Economy Strategy, explaining how the Internet of Things could breathe new life into multiple systems to make the city more environmentally friendly and efficient. "Smart cities will be a live application of the Internet of Things, where transport, energy, environmental and health care systems are much more interconnected – reducing costs, providing new services, and driving efficiencies, all for the benefit of the citizen," according to the report.

Hybrid Customer Service: Customer service will play a major role in troubleshooting problems for connected devices. As Corsello explains, "When these technologies work, they’re great — mind-blowing, really — but what happens when the nodes stop connecting or a smart meter doesn't report the proper numbers to the right place? The machine may be able to tell us something, but not enough to fix it."

There will be few industries that go untouched as connected devices enter the workplace. "This is not a race against the machines," author Kevin Kelly writes. "If we race against them, we lose. This is a race with the machines. You’ll be paid in the future based on how well you work with robots. Ninety percent of your coworkers will be unseen machines."

What would you like to see the Internet of Things improve on in your industry?

H/T LinkedIn

Photo credit: Can Stock