Robots to make 6% of US jobs unnecessary by 2021

Market research company Forrester has predicted that 6% of jobs in the United States will be eliminated due to technological replacements by 2021, in a report released this week.

Robots are likely to take over a significant amount of work in professions such as customer service, before moving on to the likes of driving trucks and taxis.

Simple artificial inelligence technology has already been deployed in various areas, but as it develops to become more complex in the coming years, more jobs will be under threat.

"By 2021, a disruptive tidal wave will begin. Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and consumer services," Forrester researcher Brian Hopkins says in the report.

Transportation could be the industry with the most potential for transformation in the near future, as big tech and car manufacturers such as Google and Tesla invest heavily in autonomous vehicles.

Other companies, such as Facebook, are in the process of creating a base of cognitive services. The social network have already put 33,000 robots to work for its Messenger app, to allow companies to automate previously costly back-office tasks.