During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world seems to have ground to a halt. But in reality, many aspects of life are going faster than ever. Scientists hunting a vaccine are trying to compress years of work into months, for example. Meanwhile, in the world of work, changes that were expected to unfold slowly have been hugely accelerated.

One of those is the shift to artificial intelligence and automation. In a 2017 report, management consultancy McKinsey suggested that a third of US jobs would be replaced by automation by 2030 but that timetable might have accelerated by the lockdown in recent months.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world seems to have ground to a halt. But in reality, many aspects of life are going faster than ever. Scientists hunting a vaccine are trying to compress years of work into months, for example. Meanwhile, in the world of work, changes that were expected to unfold slowly have been hugely accelerated.

One of those is the shift to artificial intelligence and automation. In a 2017 report, management consultancy McKinsey suggested that a third of US jobs would be replaced by automation by 2030 but that timetable might have accelerated by the lockdown in recent months.