The Future of Work: Are the robots coming for the white collar worker? In the second part of our Future of Work series, we look at how automation could change everything for the middle class employee 26 April 2021 • 5:00am 'About half of all the activities people are paid to do in the world’s workforce could potentially be automated' Credit: iLexx/Getty Images In America, Walmart has just announced it is building warehouses run by robots. “The technology is impressive,” the superstore boasts. “Equally impressive are the results.” In Britain, your Ocado shop is already sorted by machines equipped with an astonishing array of grabbers, ready to pluck and pack everything from bananas to frozen food.