For those who have longed been fascinated by a futuristic society, it’s already arrived. A future comprised of automatons who know everything about you, from how many hours of sleep you get a night to how many steps you’ve taken in any given day. And the vision of robots taking over the planet isn’t too farfetched. We’ve imagined robots created in our likeness doing our laundry, driving our cars, but they’re just in the form of smart phones and tablets. It’s a subtle takeover, but a takeover nonetheless.
So how likely is it that our jobs will soon be performed by a machine? There’s a nifty tool that calculates this likelihood. So while computers can compute things at lightning fast speed and are well, shiny and cool-looking, they lag when it comes to human-unique skills. Things taken into consideration were:
Do you need to come up with clever solutions?
Are you required to personally help others?
Does your job require you to squeeze into small spaces?
Does your job require negotiation?
What about common freelance jobs. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Graphic designer: 8.2%
So it’s more than just putting a graphic next to some copy, eh?
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Actor: 37.4%
A clone of Tom Cruise? Or has that already happened?
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Producers and Directors: 2.2%
Yea, I guess it would be a little weird to see a robot version of Michael Bay.
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Writers and Authors: 3.8%
Phew. Okay so I am in the clear (for now).
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Teaching Assistants: 55.7 % 
Well, could be worse.
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Fitness Trainer: 8.5 %
Looks like a slim chance that fitness instructors will soon be taken over by robots that are of Arnold Schwarzenegger in jazzercize garb.
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Art Directors: 2.3 %
The odds of a robot taking over your job if an art director can do a one-handed pushup while talking to your mom on the phone? -2.3%.
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At one point we believed that the Internet would give us greater access to the universe. It turns out that it’s really just given us greater access to ourselves. Our Google searches, social media posts, and blog entries are merely a reflection of ourselves and who we want to be: our interests, our desires, our compulsions. It’s an age of digital consciousness, where your life is broadcast to anyone who wants to pay any attention to it.
But rest assured, while freelance gigs at times can be hard to come by, they’re safe from a complete automaton takeover. At least for now.
