Automation Nation

How robot workers replace human staff

- Carmela Maraan Fernando

You’re placing an order at a McDonald’s Create Your Taste kiosk. Moments later, you’re enjoying your own customized gourmet burger, and you didn’t have to interact with any human staff to complete your transaction.

Or maybe you’re booking a room at a Japanese hotel, and instead of a friendly receptionist, you’re greeted at the front desk by a friendly T-Rex robot dressed as a bellhop (true story).

Does this mean that robots—or bots, as we fondly call them—will slowly take over human jobs? While the answer may be yes for some, it’s much more complicated than that.

WORKFORCE VS. WORKHORSE

As automation technologies such as AI software and robotics become increasingly involved in our everyday lives, their potential effect on job industries has become a growing concern.

The main questions on everyone’s minds are:

Will my job be replaced by a robot and how long before this happens? How will I be able to find another source of income that won’t be threatened by robots? What other jobs or fields will be taken over by machines?

Naturally, it’s a major cause for alarm for a significant number of workers. Robots have already displaced millions of employees in the manufacturing industry, and have also been adopted in other service-centered occupations, from customer service to banking, and even truck driving.