Some of the biggest names in business share the same worry for tomorrow's workforce — that robots will take a record number of jobs from humans.
As MarketWatch reports, both Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have expressed concerns about automation at its effects on the labor market.
Another billionaire, Mark Cuban, who made his fortune in tech, says technology will force many people into unemployment over the next few decades.
"I'm willing to bet that these companies building new plants ... this will lead to fewer people being employed," Cuban told CNBC in an interview, adding that "people aren't going to have jobs."
"Automation is going to cause unemployment, and we need to prepare for it," he said on Twitter.
Research supports his concerns. As MarketWatch points out, a national Pew poll confirms that the biggest cause of job loss in the U.S. is technology, and a recent study from PwC estimates that within the next 15 years, 38 percent of U.S. jobs could be lost due to automation.
Zuckerberg, in his Harvard University commencement speech last month, warned of both the economic and psychological impact technology will have on future generations.
"Our generation will have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks," he said.
"When our parents graduated, purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community," he said. "But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in communities is declining. Many people feel disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void."
Other tech leaders note that automation will have some positive effects on the economy. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said automation will create better quality of life for many people, giving them more leisure time. Gates said automation technology will spur a new wave of jobs.
But the number of jobs created by robots may not be enough to offset the number of jobs they take. And job loss could be the least of people's worries.
An open letter signed by Stephen Hawking, Musk and hundreds of others last year warned that if any country moves ahead with developing artificial intelligence weapons, a global arms race of robotic killing machines would be inevitable.
Check out what Elon Musk has to say about the robots and job loss.
Editor's note: This article has been revised and updated.