Insight of the week from the Harvard Friday Five – November 2015

Artificial intelligence could lead to "gods vs rest of us"... Humans have worried about AI for a long time. Now that the technology is coming close to reality, the fear is ratcheting up. Merrill Lynch published a 300-page report this week forecasting the possible impact of a robotic revolution (this Guardian piece is a good summary). It suggests 35% of UK jobs and 47% of US jobs could be wiped out by automation. Of course, technology has always destroyed some jobs, but in the long run it's created more. The only question, in a world where transformation is speeding up, is whether job creation can keep pace with destruction. We find AI fascinating and blogged on six things you need to know about AI here. If you want to read more and find out about the six things we think you need to know about Artificial Intelligence click here. If that isn't enough then sign up for the Harvard Friday Five – five updates, insights and ideas delivered to your inbox every Friday morning – please click here.