Bigger Threat to WA Jobs–Automation, or Artificial Intelligence?

According to data from a new study, a lot of jobs in WA state could be jeopardized by automation, some by AI

Study ranks WA state 45th but still a lot of jobs threatened

Data from a study done by a British voucher code website, called NetVoucherCodes, shows what they believe will be the number of jobs in all 50 states that could be threatened by automation and AI over the next few years, but doesn't put a specific timetable on it.

The study, shared by TheCenterSquare, ranks WA state 44th total in terms of jobs threatened, but it still amounts to hundreds of thousands. They break it into two catagories, jobs threatened by automation (such as robotics in manufacturing) and actual artitficial intelligence.  We've heard about recent huge breakthroughs in AI, including Bing and its new search engine.

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But in reality,  closer to us in the next few years, automation is a far bigger threat. The NetVoucher study, by way of The Center Square, claims 379,160 jobs could be threatened by automation, while another 64.540 from AI, for a total of 443,700.

One of the most notable examples of automation has been the automated ordering kiosks in fast-food restaurants, and even the explosion of online ordering...or "order through the app."    These eliminate, for starters, the need for a lot of counter cashiers.

There are fears that automation could continue to filter into the manufacturing realm, where robots and machines do a lot of work formerly done by people.

But before you being to panic too much, The Center Square offered this disclaimer in their story:

"All data in this story was compiled by NetVoucherCodes. States are ranked on the share of all jobs that are at high risk of being replaced by AI or automation. Notably, NetVoucherCodes used an AI program to aid in its analysis."