Business consulting firm McKinsey has predicted that nearly half the functions performed by people presently can be replaced by machines. Gartner has gone extra bearish on the job market by claiming that automation will claim ninety percent of jobs within the next fifteen odd years. Either way, the point remains that business processes are in for a major change as part of the sixth wave. The first wave occurred in 1785 with the combination of waterpower, iron and textiles. Then in 1850, came the next thanks to steam, steel and rail. Electricity and chemicals created the third by 1900 and by 1950, the fourth wave was brought on by aviation and electronics. 1990 heralded the fifth wave thanks to software and digital products but now with renewable energy, Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology and robotics, the new wave has begun. Organizations will thus need to modify theirtalent recruitment and management practices. More than subject expertise, it is agility and the willingness to constantly learn that is being accorded premium importance. More than job loss, it is the alteration of work that companies and individuals must look at so that repetitive tasks may be replaced freeing up the human mind for higher level creative tasks.

Source: http://www.talentmgt.com/2016/07/06/the-future-of-work-and-artificial-intelligence/