Malaysian youth worried about robots replacing humans by 2020

With the rapid pace of technology advancement today, it's not surprising to hear that about 5 million jobs will be replaced by technology by 2020  - and today's youths are well aware of the fact.

According to the 'Jobs of the Future' survey by Telenor Group, of the 4,200 respondents aged 15 to 25 in the six nations surveyed (Singapore, Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan), 100% of them agreed that robots will replace humans in many future professions.

On the jobs that are most likely to be replaced, 44% of youths in Malaysia predicted that jobs in the manufacturing and engineering industries are the most at risk of machine takeovers.

Similarly, 44% of those in Bangladesh, 41% of those in Myanmar, 38% in Singapore and India, and 34% in Pakistan agreed to the sentiment.

The survey also highlighted that an average of 63% of youths said that mobile/internet technology will be ‘important’ in their career by 2020.

Despite that, a majority of youths also felt that human skills cannot be forgotten.

Singaporean and Malaysian youths admire the human aspects technology; with 31% of Singaporeans and 28% of Malaysians saying that the best thing about the internet is that it ‘connects us to all kinds of people and ideas.’

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At the same time, youths in Pakistan (37%), India (36%) and Bangladesh (34%) maintained that the most important skills to a great future job will be the ‘ability to inspire others, and leadership capability’. While 27% of the surveyed Singaporean youth regard ‘people management and emotional intelligence’ and 29% of youths in Myanmar leaned toward ‘creativity, cognitive flexibility’.

The survey noted that the only country that stood out was Malaysia, where 24% of the surveyed stated that tech-related ‘mobile and web development, and super coding skills,’ were the most important.

“It’s fascinating to see that young adults not only revere technology and the opportunities it presents them, but also see themselves as ‘compassionate’, and ‘highly creative’,” said Yasu Sato, head of digital capabilities, people development, Telenor Group.

"The fact they are aligned in not only believing that technology and the internet are crucial for their careers, but that they are excited about this, is very motivating to us," Sato added.

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