We’ve all heard the saying that if technology keeps progressing like it is, it will soon replace many of us in the workforce. That statement, however, may be more detrimentally true than most think.

Bill Gates has spoken frequently this year on the subject, most notably at The American Enterprise Institute in March. At the Washington D.C. event, Gates said that within 20 years, a lot of jobs would be replaced by software automation.

Business Insider originally reported on Gates’ initial notes but he, nor them, are alone in this prediction. The Economist found that many of today’s jobs, particularly those of the lower skill set, will have a much lower demand 20 years from now. There is a chart below from The Economist’s original story.

As a college student that uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook as a predictor for job growth, it makes me wonder whether they account for the rapid increase in the usage of “bots” or not.

Gates’ discussion delves into how the government will possibly need to intervene and how tax codes will need to change to encourage job growth, however, as I am no expert in those areas, I recommend that all students act forward thinking and see where they may fit into that future, or how they may change it. As Gates shared his fears that “many people don’t have that in their mental model,” I hope that students plan and work accordingly to be successful in the future.

The future of technology is exciting and opens great new avenues, but that does not mean that we as a society can become mindless consumers and fall behind.