AFRAID OF A.I. TAKING YOUR JOB? YEP, YOU LIKELY ARE

Despite the promise that robots and artificial intelligence could help many people do their jobs better, most simply aren't buying it. And a lot of people are still afraid that emerging technology will steal their jobs.

Only 4% of 2,000 people surveyed said they thought emerging technologies would make their jobs easier, while 48% of those familiar with the idea of disruptive technologies fear it will cause layoffs in their industry and more than 38% said it might cost them their jobs personally.

Computers powered by artificial intelligence are smart enough to threaten a range of jobs, whether computers developing treatment plans for cancer patients or Amazon.com opening a grocery store without checkout lines. That impact is already being felt. The World Economic Forum expects automation, including AI, to result in the loss of at least 5 million jobs globally by 2020.

Who's the most anxious about being replaced by a robot or another smart system?

Those working in publishing, retail, and construction, according to SelectHub's study .

The optimists are in real estate, government and technology; these workers tend to think emerging technologies actually will increase the number of jobs or help them do their jobs.

Nearly half of workers in the publishing, retail and construction fields are concerned about losing their jobs because of the impact of artificial intelligence.

SelectHub's report isn't quite as optimistic, though.

"The least concerned respondents worked in real estate, where less than 22% were concerned about layoffs," the report noted. "While real estate may seem like an industry that requires a human touch, certain research suggests artificial intelligence . . . could eventually even replace traditional real estate agents and brokers."

The report also noted that artificial intelligence already can automate the house hunting process. Consumers can enter specific parameters -- among them budget, location and style of house -- into a system and receive hundreds of recommended listings.

It's not surprising that people are worried.

Last September, Forrester Research released a report contending that in just five years, smart systems and robots could replace up to 6% of jobs in the United States.

Then last month, a Japanese insurance company put a face on that prediction when it replaced 34 of its workers with an A.I. system.

Coming to IT, A.I. can automate many repetitive tasks such as data entry and can potentially be deployed for jobs that require even "higher cognition," triggering concerns about the future of many IT jobs.

India's IT services and Business Process Management (BPM) sectors employ about 3.7 million people. And Indian IT services companies have been under pressure to stay competitive and differentiate their offerings through automation initiatives such as the use of artificial intelligence platforms.

Earlier this year, Wipro said its AI platform "Holmes" will free up 3,000 engineers from "mundane" software maintenance jobs," a step expected to save the company about $46.5 million as it tries to boost profitability, according to media reports. Tata Consultancy Services uses an AI platform called 'Ignio,' while Infosys uses 'Mana'.

Indian IT majors have also recently reported lacklustre results, which means the pressure to automate and improve margins is likely to further increase. 

However, not every view of the future of work and smart machines is dire.

Some scientists, like Tom Dietterich, a professor and director of intelligent systems at Oregon State University, say smart systems should start to act as increasingly powerful digital assistants that will be used to help people train and do their jobs.

Working with machines, humans could become super human.

For instance, at Stitch Fix, a San Francisco-based online subscription and shopping service, professional stylists, with the help of an A.I. and a team of data scientists, pick out clothes for their customers.