Can pharmacists be replaced by computers?

In the New York Times recently, the Nobel Prize winning Paul Krugman discussed the mistaken belief that higher education will ensure a good career.

He cited other economists who state that computers will be able to replace anyone who is doing, “cognitive and manual tasks that can be accomplished by following explicit rules.” Computers are much better at doing these things. These are exactly the kinds of tasks that many pharmacists have excelled in over the years and therefore likely to be replaced by computers.

Success in the pharmacy of the future is more likely for pharmacists who are good at jobs that can’t be carried out by following explicit rules — communications, pharmacoeconomics, personnel management, social marketing, and many other problem solving skills that students seem to resist.

If pharmacy students don't want to learn to work with ambiguity, there is another option suggested by Krugman. Most manual labor being done in the U.S. is hard to automate. Therefore, many jobs of the future will be truck driving, janitorial work, and other forms of physical labor.

Its the student's choice.