BROADCASTS.com

We are living through what some experts call the fourth industrial revolution – a time when rapid changes in artificial intelligence, robotics, and other digital technologies are disrupting industries across the globe in ways that few could have imagined.

This revolution will result in exciting new products for consumers, but what it means for workers isn’t entirely clear. Cheryl A. Oldham, vice president of education policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says these breakthroughs will likely lead to the automation of more and more jobs, even in service-oriented sectors like legal and accounting work.

“But things that require humans and human emotion, that’s not going to go away,” she says. “There’s going to be as much job creation out of this fourth industrial revolution as there will be automated away. It’s just going to be different.”

That will make job training even more crucial as businesses compete for workers prepared to perform the jobs of tomorrow. Oldham discussed these and other workforce development issues on KET’s Connections with Renee Shaw.