Incredible photos showing the varied ways the world works in 2019

Will robots take all our jobs?

It’s unlikely to happen, according to the latest report by the World Bank* on work and jobs around the world.

In its study called The World Development Report 2019, the World Bank instead predicts that automation* will replace some low-skilled jobs but create opportunities for different, more productive and creative jobs.

“This fear that robots have eliminated* jobs — this fear is not supported by the evidence so far,” the World Bank’s Chief Economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg told news service Bloomberg.

“This is the fourth industrial revolution*, there have been three before, and in each case we managed to survive so it’s not the case that machines completely eliminated humans,” Koujianou Goldberg said. “Eventually, we will adjust.”

This incredible collection of photographs shows humans — not robots — doing jobs around the world, from farmers in Bangladesh sorting chillies to window cleaners high up on a glass skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates.

These photos are among the 50 finalists from 1500 entries to an international photography competition called #Work2019.

Which is your favourite photo? Which of these jobs do you think will still be done by humans in 2050 or 2100? Which jobs do you think might be better for robots to do and why?

GLOSSARY

• World Bank: international bank that provides interest-free loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries
• automation: making something automatic
• eliminated: got rid of completely
• industrial revolution: a big change in the way the world works. The Industrial Revolution refers to a time that began in the late 1700s when many people moved from farming and small-scale making to working in factories with the help of machines

EXTRA READING

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Amazing photos of ancient cultures

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Cracking the future jobs code

QUICK QUIZ

1. Does the World Bank think robots will take all our jobs?
2. What does the World Bank do?
3. What is an industrial revolution?
4. What jobs does Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg have?
5. In what country is the chilli photo taken?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Danger Money
Some of the jobs in these pictures look quite dangerous and are from countries that are less privileged than ours.

Work with a classmate and choose 3 pictures and make a list of some hazards of the job and how you could improve the safety or workplace conditions for these workers.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Work with a friend and make a list of some new and creative jobs that might be created by 2050 to 2100. What job would you like to do when you are an adult?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
After reading the article, with a partner, highlight all the openers you can find in blue. Discuss if they are powerful and varied openers or not. Why do you think the journalist has used a mix of simple and power openers? Would you change any, and why?

HAVE YOUR SAY: Which is your favourite #Work2019 photo? Which of these jobs would you least like to do and why?
No one-word answers. Use full sentences to explain your thinking. No comments will be published until approved by editors.