These developments can improve the speed, quality and costs of goods and services, but also leave a large number of workers unemployed. This possibility calls into question the traditional model of benefits, according to which health coverage and pensions are linked to employment. In an economy that requires far fewer workers, we need to think about how to ensure benefits for the unemployed. If in future automation is going to undermine job security, there must be benefits not linked to employment. Flexicurity or flexible security is one of the ways to ensure access to health, education and housing for people without a fixed job. In addition, production accounts by industry can cover continuing training and retraining. No matter how individuals choose to spend their time, they have to be able to lead full lives even when society needs fewer workers.

The list of new technologies grows every day. Robots, augmented reality, algorithms and machine to machine communications help people in a variety of tasks. These technologies are wide-ranging and transcendental for their potential to transform business and human lives. They have the capacity to facilitate the lives of individuals and improve their personal and work relationships.

This chapter examines the impact of robots, artificial intelligence and machine learning on the active population and public policies. If society needs fewer workers due to automation and robotics, and many of the social benefits are linked to employment, how will the non-working population receive health care and pensions for an extended period of time? Public policy programmes must address very important issues and ways must be found of providing social benefits in the new digital economy.

Emerging technologies

• Robots. The number of industrial robots has increased throughout the developed world. A study by RBC Global Asset Management shows that costs in robotics and automation have been substantially reduced. In the past, "the high costs of industrial robotics restricted their use to a few high-wage sectors, such as automotive. However, in recent years, the average costs of robots have been reduced and in many strategic industries in Asia the cost of robots and the unit costs of a low-wage workforce are converging… Robots today represent a viable alternative to human workers.”
• Computer algorithms. Some computer algorithms have already replaced human transactions. We see it in stock markets, where high-frequency machine negotiation has replaced human decision-making. People send purchase and sale orders, and computers combine them in the blink of an eye, without human intervention. There are people specialized in arbitration operations, where algorithms observe that the same stocks have different values in different markets. Humans are not very effective in detecting price differentials, while computers can use complex mathematical formulas to determine where there are business opportunities. There are very brilliant mathematicians in this kind of analysis who have made it possible to make huge amounts of money.
  
• Artificial intelligence. The term refers to “machines that respond to stimulation in a manner consistent with traditional human responses, given the human capacity for contemplation, consideration and purpose.” It incorporates reasoning and critical judgment to responses. Artificial intelligence, once considered a futuristic fantasy, is today a reality and has been incorporated into a wide variety of areas. It is used in finance, transport, aviation and telecommunications. Expert systems ‘make decisions that normally require human skill levels’. These systems help people anticipate problems or cope with difficulties that may arise.