Professions most/least susceptible

"Even if there is enough work to ensure full employment by 2030, major transitions lie ahead that could match or even exceed the scale of historical shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing," according to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute published this month. "Even as it causes declines in some occupations, automation will change many more – 60 percent of occupations have at least 30 percent of constituent work activities that could be automated."

Professions most susceptible to automation include physical ones in "predictable environments," including operating machinery and preparing fast food, according to the research. Alternatively, automation will have a more muted effect on jobs that involve expertise, managing people, and that require frequent social interactions.

 

"Unpredictable" jobs such as gardeners, plumbers, or providers of child and elder care are also less likely to see automation over the next decade, as they remain challenging to automate and don't usually earn high wages, according to McKinsey.

This selective effect on the workforce has many worried that income inequality could continue to worsen in the United States.

"Income polarization could continue in the United States and other advanced economies," noted the research. "If reemployment is slow, frictional unemployment will likely rise in the short-term and wages could face downward pressure."

To be sure, McKinsey isn't the only group studying the effects of artificial intelligence on wages and economic growth.