When I learned that my grandson and his sister planned careers in robotics and the arts respectively, I realised that the arts was about the safest of the lot.

I guess robotics and AI are pretty safe careers as it will presumably be some time before robots can design better robots, but surely some of the arts will never be displaced.

I can’t, for example, imagine humans watching a play written or acted by robots, but which of the arts could they conceivably take over?

Surely not dance, for the same reason as acting.

How about replacing an orchestra? Why not? Although I think you would always need a conductor for a unique interpretation of the music, otherwise you’d likely end up with muzak.

Paintings and sculpture? Certain abstract (decor) art, perhaps, but could a robot produce something that would repeatedly draw out the emotions of a human? I don’t think so.

A choir or other singers? The human voice is simply another instrument, so perhaps the same applies as to an orchestra, but I can’t imagine a robot strutting its stuff on stage.

Creative writing? Neh! But then, people are already reading less and less.

So, I guess their career choices are pretty good, but beware the professions. Doctors, accountants, auditors, quantity surveyors, actuaries, architects will all be at risk, but hey! I bet attorneys will come through OK!