Robots: the next job threat?

Can your job be done by a robot? Can your role, and those of everyone you work with, be filled by just one machine? Automation creeping into the labour market isn't a new phenomenon, the Luddites have feared this since the 19th century. Historically jobs under threat were those that involved lower skills and repetitive motion. But as machines get more "intelligent" the prospect of them performing human-only types of employment is not so far in the future; in fact some academics are predicting that by 2040 almost half of current jobs in the United States could be automated. Today robots are already writing news articles, designing buildings and driving cars more safely than ever before. Will technology advancements lead to widespread human unemployment and inequality? What impact will artificial intelligence have on the labour force of the future?