Answer: In a German study, 63% of survey respondents said they would prefer to be replaced by a robot. 

Questions:

• Describe the emotions you would feel after losing a job to another person compared to your feelings after losing that job to a robot. 
• What types of jobs do you think that robots will begin to replace people?
• What types of jobs do you think people are uniquely qualified to do compared to robots? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (The Big Think):

"Why such a reaction? People generally find robots not that threatening to their identities. It's worse for your self-esteem if another human takes your job because it means you are somehow less valuable. A robot, on the other hand, is not the same kind of competition, according to Granulo."

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Check out this popular NGPF interactive about the future of work: Will your job be done by a machine? in the Career Unit. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.