They say that robots are coming to take our jobs. At Autodesk, we are hoping to help create new industries to mitigate the negative effects of the changing work environment. Just as people moved to factories when agricultural tools (e.g., tractors) reduced the need for farm workers, what will people do in the future? So, what does the future of work hold for us? They say robots are coming for us. At Autodesk, we believe that robots are coming for us. Instead of supplanting us, robots and humans will work side by side. Machine learning and artificial intelligence will help us achieve what we want to achieve. We make software that helps work get done because Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you're creating a high-performance car, a towering skyscraper, a smartphone, or a great film, your work can be aided by Autodesk applications and services. That's true now and will remain true in the future.

Our aim is to help people make more things, make them better, and make them with less. As we continue to develop and enhance our desktop applications and supplement them with cloud-based services around analysis, simulation, collaboration, and fabrication, we ask ourselves:

• What parts of our customers' jobs do they want to do less of in the future? In other words, what parts are customers willing to hand off to automation?

• What parts of our customers' jobs would they like to spend more time doing? In other words, what would customers spend more of their time on to make their work more enjoyable? Given the ability to hand off some tasks to automation, what would customers do with the windfall of time?

At present, we see the future of work involving an intersection of technologies and human abilities. The technology areas include:

• Robotics
• Augment Reality/Virtual Reality
• Generative Design
• Internet of Things
• Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

The human abilities include:

• Creativity/Imagination/Innovation
• Empathy/Emotion
• Critical Thinking
• Beauty/Aesthetics/Quality
• Collaboration/Communication
• Flexibility/Adaptability/Improvisation/Problem solving
• Creating Great Experiences for People

At Autodesk, we see machines doing what they do best and humans doing what they do best. Together, it's a winning combination.

How do you see the future of work? Let us know at thelabs@autodesk.com. In addition, we'll be asking these questions at Autodesk University in Las Vegas, so be prepared to put your thinking caps on.

A work-study program is alive in the lab.