It’s been revealed in a report that 1 in 3 Britons fears that a robot will be taking their job in the near future. Jobs that are dull, dangerous or dirty look set for robot overhaul, with our metallic friends more than able to pick up simple routines in defined structures. However anything more complicated than picking up one thing in one place, following one route and putting it down in another unchanging place is likely to flummox a robot. Even ironing is beyond them. 

Other headline stats - 39% of Britons fear that robots pose a definite threat to humanity, while 17% of people are willing to have sex with a robot. We hope they’re not the same, very confused, people. Another recent report suggests 702 currently human jobs are in danger of becoming robot territory.

It’s an interesting question to ponder for our specific digital sector as the work in PPC and SEO exists entirely in the digital space, which oddly means the nuances and human strategy takes it far away from something easily-automated like factory work. In terms of SEO though are we already working for an inorganic algorithm? Does programmatic buying add up to robots doing PPC?

Robots are already making a better job of saving lives (in hospitals) and taking lives (on the battlefield) so it’s not surprising to hear that they might be taking up the reins of many things in between.

If about 50 years of Hollywood hasn’t convinced you robots might not be fantastic, even Stephen Hawking is chipping in now. The true tipping point may come when it’s cheaper to build a robot than employ a person on minimum wage, as whether it’s robots or humans in charge capitalism is likely to win out.

Martin Smith, Professor of Robotics at University of Middlesex offered a calming voice though, saying “While many of us worry about the role of technology and machines in modern society, robots are increasingly being developed for important roles that will help protect and improve our lives.

"Though many fear their jobs will be taken over by machines, it is more likely that robots will be used as assistants, and the future workforce could have the benefit of avoiding hazardous and repetitive tasks rather than suffer mass redundancies.”

Salaries across major business are undergoing significant changes, as performance becomes a greater guarantee of financial reward than the job titles themselves.

In the wake of the financial crisis the worth and contribution of any individual is more under question than ever, as society finds a new, deeper distrust for established, opaque hierarchies. A movement of accountability and transparency has taken hold, set against a back drop of financial turmoil and shareholder mistrust.

In short, more than ever, everyone wants to be sure you’re not getting paid for what you’re not doing. From this though evolves an opportunity, where people who excel have the potential to greatly improve their standard earnings through bonus structures.

Within the elite FTSE companies 25% have seen their CEO’s pay frozen. More tellingly 70% of new CEO appointments are internal, and on average they’re taking in 13% less than their predecessor. As these are often the key markers in economic change it’s no surprise to see the pattern repeated in Chrysalis’ own sectors – Chris Crawford, Managing Director states:

“We’ve noticed a rise in packages that include a bonus; increasingly candidates are slightly lowering salary expectations while understanding through strong performance they can increase the financial rewards. It’s a valuable system that rewards achievement, while still providing the incentive for any employee to continue to progress.”

Handling major accounts for blue-chip clients at global agencies or client-side at noteworthy companies it’s inevitable that digital sector workers face the same enhanced emphasis on their output and are rewarded accordingly.

It leaves us here at Chrysalis with one thought – you’ve more chance to define your worth than ever.

Disney, of cartoon mouse fame, has created a 3D printing technology with the capability of turning any object into one capable of emitting sound. While they’re not an obvious tech titan, Disney, actually has a fearlessly innovative R&D division, that’s tasked with creating their trademark magical experiences. Previously they've turned a fairly unremarkable plant into a working touch interface and even a musical instrument. 

As well creating audible sound, the speakers will be capable of producing ultrasound, inaubidle to humans but useful in the tracking of objects, making each individual object potentially part of a grander scheme of communicating local objects.

What it means for consumer electronics is the potential for any object to be able to deliver audio reports, warnings or just sounds that enhance the experience. From the freezer door that can remind you to shut it to the electrode coated room of true-to-life sound, in moving beyond standard speakers, we’re prepared for a world of sound from every direction and every surface. Or more than likely a Mickey Mouse, that's more lifelike and 'magical' than ever.

For a full-on technical description, here's extremetech's explanation:

"The secret sauce in this breakthrough is Disney Research’s use of electrostatic speakers. Conventional speakers (in your headphones or subwoofer) use electromagnetism to move a magnet back and forth, hitting the air around it, creating sound waves (pressure waves) that your ears register as sounds. Electrostatic speakers on the other hand have no moving parts — there’s a thin, conductive diaphragm (nickel in this case) and an electrode plate, separated by a small amount of air. When current is applied to the electrode, electrostatic force deforms the diaphragm, causing it to vibrate and create sound waves.

In the case of Disney Research’s 3D speakers, the researchers use a 3D printer to create the object, and then spray on a nickel-based paint on the areas that should emit sound. The diaphragm is produced separately (also with a 3D printer) and sprayed with the same paint. By using multiple electrodes, it’s possible to control different regions of the 3D-printed object/speaker independently, too (so, it might emit different sounds from different regions). Depending on the shape of the active region, the sound might be directional (conical) or omnidirectional (spherical). The completed device is then assembled. In the future, when 3D printers can lay down multiple materials (including conductive materials), these manual steps could be omitted and the whole thing could be made in one shot."

Nike recently released their latest ad (perhaps even their best) and in ‘Winner Stays’ Nike have yet another top-quality pre-World Cup ad in their catalogue. As many of us look ahead to Brazil we can trust the American giant to mark out the first staging post, as ever delivered by their agency of the last 30 years, Wieden + Kennedy.

‘Winner Stays’ is the ultimate spin on the Sunday kickaround, as kids transform into their heroes, a comic book character and even a postman. Unbelievable skills are on display and David Luiz continues his metamorphosis from unpredictable centre back to comedy posterboy (that’s still very good at football), while Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar take centre stage. The brand mastery continues, neatly sidestepping Adidas by including players such as Pique and Iniesta in their Nike-made club kits rather than their country’s Adidas kits.

Back to the start though… In 1994 Nike suddenly found itself vaguely interested in football, thanks to the US hosting the world cup. Lacking the drama and grandeur of campaigns to come, ’94 settled for a simple but effective gimmick of footballers on billboards kicking it to one another across the continents.

With the detour of a surreal good vs evil match in a 1996 ad, by World Cup ’98 in France Nike was backing the winners of the previous tournament, Brazil, to the hilt. Where it not for a horrendously lethargic final performance and the magic of Zinedine Zidane, they might have been on to something too. As it was they had an airport football run-around loosely pitting the Brazilian stars against security guards in this classic ad. Bonus points for picking out the most expensive player ever, at the time, Denilson (remember him?).

For 2002, Nike was in full on classic-mode, delivering a high intensity cage match, in a underground-style football tournament. It even has Elvis as the sound track. The 4 minute spot featured almost every major footballer of the day and tournament winner Thierry Henry show-cased his cunning way before he’d ever taken a free kick when no-one was ready.

With battle-lines clearly drawn with Adidas, World Cup ’06 was in that brand’s host country. Nike went all guns blazing with a whole Joga Bonito campaign, making use of some of the first mainstream viral video tactics and pinning itself on its latest Brazilian star, Ronaldinho.

For 2010, the World Cup was back on neutral ground and Nike returned with an extended ad under the theme ‘Write Your Future’. For once Cantona didn’t get the acting gig, and a three-pronged attack of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho took centre stage. Along with Homer Simpson. The video was a massive hit, but the same can't be said for its stars, who all left the world cup earlier than expected, apart from Ronaldinho who didn't make it there at all. What's worse was that Adidas-wearing Spain made it 2 trophies in a row.

All of this without ever once being an official sponsor for the world cup and without Lionel Messi, (jewel in the Adidas crown) in sight. Proving that if you can make an unofficial ad and still steal all the attention while adding to the vault of great ads out there; Just do it.