Stanford University professor Erik Brynjolfsson refers to the last 15 years as the "productivity paradox." Advances in technology programs have become as good as—or better—than humans at some things. 

According to Brynjolfsson’s research, powerful technology is available and every organization has an opportunity to benefit from it. Successful firms will be prepared with the skills needed in the future, and leaders should focus on reskilling their workforce. 

“We don’t need any additional advances in technology to be able to have enormous effects on productivity and wages,” said Brynjolfsson. “What we do need is some significant changes in business processes. We need to rethink the way work gets done.”

Replacing human work with technology also brings concerns about lower wages and higher inequality. Brynjolfsson’s research showed there isn’t one occupation where machine learning could replace all the different tasks. While technology will likely reorganize work, it won’t mean the end of work or entire occupations.

Read more at MIT Sloan School of Management