Robots will take Australian jobs and the finance industry needs to innovate or die, technologist warns

ROBOTS are threatening to take over your job and if your perform simple tasks “you are screwed,” according to one of Australia’s top tech entrepreneurs.

Digital disruption ... Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist Daniel Petre says jobs and industries are going to change in Australia and business people need to be prepared. (Photo: Blue Frog Robotics.)

WHETHER you’re a surgeon, a banker, or a factory worker, your job is under imminent threat from robots and you’ll need to get creative to keep it, according to one of Australia’s foremost technology experts.

Former Microsoft top executive and entrepreneur Daniel Petre issued the warning ahead of his appearance at the star-studded Australasian Real Estate Conference next month, and also cautioned Australia’s monopolies to innovate or risk being challenged by foreign threats.

Mr Petre, who runs the $60 million AirTree Ventures investment fund and worked closely with Bill Gates, said Australian graduates and small businesses were embracing the digital economy but its effects would soon be felt by established businesses and workers alike.

Those with “binary,” process-driven jobs were the most at risk of being replaced by robots, Mr Petre said, and it would happen sooner than many people expected.

“If your job is a binary application with the set of rules, you are screwed. Robots can do your job. Robots will run themselves,” he said.

“Homo sapiens have been the leading tribe for 75 million years. There’s nothing to suggest we are going to be the pre-eminent life form going forward.”

Mr Petre said robots had already proven they could “fold towels better than a human,” were on their way to proving they could drive better than humans thanks to autonomous vehicles, and robots could fix humans with performing surgery on them in future.

“Let’s assume you have a robot in charge of stent operations,” he said. “It could have watched videos of thousands of operations and learned the best approaches in millions of operations. That’s got to be a pretty good robot.”

Mr Petre’s warnings are backed by the findings of a World Economic Forum report released in January, which estimated 7.1 million jobs would be replaced by robots and artificial intelligence, and would be offset by just two million new roles.

Based on a global executive survey, the Forum found two thirds of the roles would be lost in offices and administration.

“There’s no question computers will take more tasks,” Mr Petre said. “The question is do we move to a higher order of activity and is there enough of those jobs for everyone?“

But the businessman behind Netus and Ecorp said it wasn’t just employees who needed to prepare for changing workplaces but Australia’s biggest companies.

While he said the “trend is good” for start-ups in Australia, “it’s pretty clear the business community generally is lacking a level of innovation”.

“Many industries in Australia are effectively monopolies or oligarchies and they’re so large they don’t need to work hard to maintain (market) share,” he said.

“They’re as good as the guy across the road but they’re not better than the guy around the world.”

Mr Petre said banking and finance industries were primed for disruption in Australia, despite powerful incumbents and the high level of regulation, and Australians should be prepared to see new payment technology enter the market and compete for their business.

Other industries that would be transformed in the next “five to 10 years” include health, retail, and online real estate, where buyers will find it much easier to accurately price a house without relying on traditional experts.

Mr Petre will appear at the Australasian Real Estate Conference on the Gold Coast on May 22-23, along with speakers including Million Dollar Listing New York star Fredrik Eklund, Earth Hour co-founder Nigel Marsh, and former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke.

For more details visit tret.com.au