Nearly 650,000 Valley residents are at risk of their jobs being affected by automation over the next decade or so, according to the nonprofit think tank New America. Most of the jobs that it could impact are low-skilled jobs, but technology could change high-skilled jobs — and even eliminate them.
Megan Garcia is a senior fellow at New America. She said her group chose Phoenix to study because of its population growth, and that other cities, especially in the Midwest, are already being affected by automation.
“We really have the exciting opportunity to get ahead of automation and figure out what to do to make sure people can weather the transition,” she said.
Garcia said new technology can also lead to the creation of jobs. From 1980 through 2010, half of all job growth came from the creation and expansion of new jobs.
The group will co-host a lab Friday in Phoenix to work on a long-range plan for how to deal with automation.
