Companies should set up portable accounts to pay for life-long learning to help workers upgrade their skills and remain employable as robots take over more jobs, Adecco Group Chief Executive Alain Dehaze said.

More than half of repetitive and predictive roles sectors such as IT, financial services, manufacturing, transportation and packaging will face risk of disruption over the next two years in India due to automation, reports the Times of India citing a study from Indian staffing services firm TeamLease. The study estimated that 52%-69% will be exposed to the risk of automation, however this may not automatically imply job losses as new high-order jobs will be created simultaneously. TeamLease says that greater adoption of AI will likely see role changes in the workforce that would need higher specialisation and critical thinking. TeamLease also warned that unless adequate investments are made on upgrading skill levels, the oncoming AI revolution will certainly lead to largescale job losses. The study suggested looking to countries such as China which are developing plans for AI education.

Robots and artificial intelligence are new tools recruiters are using to find and screen job candidates–freeing them up from tedious tasks to focus on more strategic efforts. But beware of the unintentional consequences of teaching machines to think like we do: stereotypes and discrimination.

Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it would raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour for U.S. employees from next month, giving ground to critics of poor pay and working conditions at the world’s second most valuable company.

AI is expected to have an impact on 70% of China’s most common occupations, according to a report jointly published by the China Development Research Foundation and venture capital firm Sequoia China.

The report, ‘Human Capital Investment in the AI Era: Future Challenges and Coping Strategies in the Chinese Job Market’, focuses on the impact of AI on the Chinese job market.

“Artificial Intelligence is a double-edged sword: without proper human capital investment, it can have negative impacts on our future society,” the report stated.

Lu Mai, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Development Research Foundation, commented, “”If we decide to go on the path towards a future with AI, we must emphasize human capital investment, and this must be done at an early stage,”

Automation is set to replace one-fifth of China’s jobs in the manufacturing sector by 2030, and if the process of automation accelerates, nearly 100 million workers will need to change their line of work, according to the report.

The report also estimated that 99% of workers in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, 98% of workers in construction and 94% of workers who install and maintain power systems will be replaced by AI in 20 years. A total of 96,000 jobs in the online retail industry may be replaced, while some 23% of finance workers are expected to see their posts totally or partially replaced by AI, the report noted.

In the financial industry, the report said that by 2027, there will be 9.93 million employees in the industry, but 22% of the jobs in banks, 25% in the insurance market and 16% in the capital market will be replaced by AI because of the repetitive nature of their work.

Robots are already replacing human labour in provinces including Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong.

“AI will greatly free humans from repetitive jobs and cultivate creative minds,” Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of Sequoia China, said. “This means work will shift from ‘labour-centric’ to ‘innovation-driven’. More talents will devote their time to scientific discovery and technological innovation, and dedicate their effort to the enrichment of the world.”

Shen further stresses that AI and human intelligence can reinforce each other and develop hand in hand.

“On the cusp of a great AI transformation, China should embrace this changeover and reap its benefits, while addressing the potential difficulties posed by AI,” Shen said. “It is important to note that the entire society, particularly the system of academic education and vocational training, must be prepared to adapt to the changes and meet the challenges.”

The report follows the World Economic Forum’s report which found that AI and robotics could create almost double the number of jobs for the global economy by 2025.

Companies outside of urban centers don’t have enough high-skilled employees for an increasing numbers of jobs — and robots are not the answer.

Robot manufacturing is expected to cause drastic job losses and lead to a spike in slavery and labour abuses in global supply chains, according to a study from supply chain analyst firm Verisk Maplecroft.

The report suggested that governments should take early measures to prevent automation threating millions of livelihoods.

According to Versik Maplecroft, automation tops a list of five issues in the annual Human Rights Outlook, which are identified as presenting significant challenges to the reputations, operations and supply chains of multinational companies now and in the future.

“With the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimating that over the next two decades 56% of workers in the manufacturing hubs of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam will lose their jobs due to automation, the risk of slavery and trafficking appearing in supply chains will spiral,” the report stated.

“This grouping of countries, known as the ASEAN-5, are particularly at risk due to the dependence of the workforce on low-skilled jobs and existing high levels of labour rights violations. All are currently rated as ‘high risk’ countries in Verisk Maplecroft’s Modern Slavery Index, but their rankings and scores are forecast to deteriorate when the full impact of automation is felt,” the report stated.

Verisk Maplecroft’s Head of Human Rights, Alexandra Channer, commented, “Displaced workers without the skills to adapt or the cushion of social security will have to compete for a diminishing supply of low-paid, low-skilled work in what will likely be an increasingly exploitative environment. Without concrete measures from governments to adapt and educate future generations to function alongside machines, it could be a race to the bottom for many workers.”

The report applied its industry-specific labour risk indices to the ILO data across 21 sectors where jobs are at high risk of replacement by automation. The sectors where the risk is highest are identified as agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; construction; retail; and hospitality. Vietnam was flagged as the highest risk of the five countries studied, where 67% of workers, or 36 million people, will be seeking alternative livelihoods in an environment where the risk of exploitation is already high.

Verisk Maplecroft singled out the garment, textile and footwear industry as being at particular risk from automation within the ASEAN-5.The industry employs 59% of all manufacturing workers in Cambodia and 39% in Vietnam. Any job displacement from this sector will therefore impact a large proportion of the entire manufacturing workforce, the majority of whom are women.

The Guardian reports that robots are already in production and will be able to help produce cars, electronics and new machinery. Robots are also set to replace humans in the farming and sewing industries.

Automation is bringing changes to India’s labour market, and new skills will be needed, Livemint reported. “There is a gradual adoption of robots and automation in sectors like automobiles, pharma, IT and ITES, financials … the labour force is changing and it will continue in India for the next several years.” Labour expert Rakhi Sehgal told Livemint. “You will find demand for new skills … the workers and the management will have to change or help in the transition.”

The group Farmworker Justice discusses the subpar working conditions of farm laborers.