The Conversation

Vital Signs: the end of the checkout signals a dire future for those without the right skills

Author: Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW

Shops checkouts are predicted to disappear this decade. Customers will be able to take what they want and walk out, with payment done automatically.www.shutterstock.com

There has already been a fair number of jobs lost to automation over recent decades – from factory workers to bank tellers.

In the coming decade we might see radically larger...

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