In the race between humans and automation there are two extreme positions. On one side, utopians think that machines will set us free. In the short-term they will increase our productivity and eventually they help us to overcome most, if not all our limitations. On the other side, dystopians see a future à la Skynet where machines will first steal our jobs and then will rule the world. Humans become slaves and/or eventually disappear.

The most extreme consequences may still lie far into the future, but clearly we are already undergoing a deep transformation of our personal and professional environments due or thanks to automation and more intelligent software, devices and all sorts of industrial appliances. Smart machines are just around the corner.

And here is the first study (behind pay-wall) by an industry analyst that I have come across. Gartner is trying to estimate the influence of smart machines on Knowledge Workers in the 2020 horizon, and they are betting on middle ground between utopia and dystopia. (They clearly warn that this is still preliminary work under evaluation)

And you? What do you think. Do you want to share your own view on the man-machine race till 2020? Place your bets:

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Featured Image: Boston Dynamics, LS3