Are robots stealing our jobs?

Photo by Rock'n Roll Monkey on Unsplash

From replacing workers in factories to driving buses, there are many worries surrounding the advancements in the robotics industry. These concerns are not entirely unfounded as many processes are becoming more and more mechanised. There are even robot rock bands!

The worries seem to stem from robots having the ability to carry progressively complex tasks; The Henn-na Hotel in Japan is the world’s first hotel to be staffed by robots. These robots speak many languages and aid in the checking in and out processes, they are able to store luggage and carry it to the guests’ room. Facial recognition software is also used as a room key replacement.

Loss of jobs seems to be a large area of human concern. In fact the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) have recently warned that robots will replace a third of the UK’s jobs and a study conducted in 2013 by Oxford University estimated that “47 percent of total US is at risk” from computerisation. In Australia a company has innovated a robot that has the ability to automatically lay bricks and in Michigan, USA cow milking robots have been created. Both of these eradicate the need for manpower. Fortunately, many jobs have a low risk of computerisation like recreational therapists, choreographers and primary school teachers with a probability of less than 0.5%. On the other hand, if you’re a watch repairer, hand sewer or telemarketer there is a 99% probability that your job becomes computerised (from Oxford’s study). A lot of people seem to be aware of this issue with 67% of Britons surveyed by the European commission agree that “Robots steal peoples’ jobs”.

Ever since the start of human existence we have innovated ways to make our lives easier, so in this respect creating machines that carry out our tasks for us was inevitable. Still, if we continue at a great rate of progress, could we become completely machine dependent without the need for humans like the people in the film Wall-E? Well in many respects we already have; we’ve become increasingly technology dependent and Toyota have created a chair that isn’t dissimilar to the ones that the human Wall-E characters drive. But maybe the prospect of our Wall-E-esque future isn’t so bleak, after all they appear have a life expectancy well over one hundred years old in the film?

Besides, there are plenty of pros to the advancements in robotics and this year alone we have seen inventions such as: a handheld robot called ‘Leka’ that helps children with special-needs understand social and visual behaviour and the ‘Laundroid’ that folds and sorts your clothes for you (although it does take 5 minutes to fold one shirt).

The field of prosthetic limbs has also been lent a helping hand (pun intended) by Biorobotics which is a complex area that involves developing advanced limbs with artificial sensing skin that can measure the pressure that it is exerting, allowing for the sense of touch to be simulated. Biorobotics has also opened doors in identifying early signs of autism in children by monitoring their sensory-motor development using specially designed toys.

It’s always surprising to hear people being very sceptical on the safety of driverless vehicles - especially considering that they’re generally considered to be safer than vehicles driven by humans. This mistrust of robots appears to be in the minority as the European Commission survey discovered when only 23% of people expressed a negative attitude towards robots, the survey also revealed that 27% of females asked have a negative view compared to the 19% of males. Driverless vehicles all undergo rigorous testing and their reaction times are considerably faster than that of a human – in fact the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 93% of crashes are primarily caused by human error so eradicating the human aspect surely makes our roads much safer?

So what's next? Is your career safe? The BBC published this in 2015 letting you know whether your job is at risk (check it out for yourself)