The 12 jobs most at risk of being replaced by robots

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

A robot called 'Pepper' speaks with visitors at a Technology Trade Fair on March 20, 2017 in Germany. 'Pepper' has a face detection and is either used to greet Hotel guests during arrival or can be personalised by owners to help in the household.

If you're a lawyer, bartender, cook, singer or taxi driver, you could be at risk of losing your job to a robot, according to a study.

Security guards, receptionists and salespeople could also face the same fate, according to the Oxford University research, which identified 12 jobs most at risk of automation.

This chart shows the occupations most at risk of being replaced by computers or robots

They were among 700 occupations identified as replaceable by computers or robots by the study - which also said up to half of the US workforce could be automated within the next decade or two.

The CEO of US fast food chain Taco Bell's parent company believed it could be sooner - within 10 years.

* Robots could threaten up to half NZ's jobs in next 20 years

* Robot pilots may someday fly passenger planes**

'I don't think it is going to happen next year or the year after, but I do believe that probably by the mid '20s to the late '20s, you'll start to see a dramatic change in sort of how machines run the world,' Greg Creed, CEO of Yum Brands, told CNBC.

Yum owns a handful of fast-food companies including KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut.

The fast-food industry was already using technology to supplement or replace human workers through the use of tablets and smartphone apps that allowed customers to order food without interacting with any employees.

But robots and 'smart' computers were not just threatening the jobs of fast-food workers.

Among the other occupations most at risk of automation were personal financial advisers, clerks, reporters and chauffeurs.

This story was first published at BusinessInsider.com.au.