When people hear the word ‘robots’ …
Some think of movies; from Wall-E and RoboCop, to Artificial Intelligence and Terminator. Some think of Cyborgs and Androids, the likes of Maria Bot and Sophia. And others think of industrial robots and Amazon robots.
However, what most people think of when they hear the word is a future where jobs disappear and robots take over.
A common narrative claims that robots are a good thing for humanity; they will give people time to do other things with their time that are more engaging, more rewarding and better than a ‘job’. Robots will improve the quality of services and reduce workplace and road accidents.
While quality can be improved, concern is related to our sense of agency and identity. The risk to our sense of agency is known, but what about identity?People seek, for years, the career that they love and that speaks to who they are and that they would do for free if it wasn’t for humanity’s basic need for an income. What about the various experiences we undertake in our lives to find out more about who we are? How would a robot be a good thing if it shoves people out the door of stability, satisfaction and impact?
Some argue that robots will change the way we think of our careers. From building robots to making them better to more Arts, entrepreneurial and creative endeavors. In other words, robots will give humanity more time for innovation.
The reality is that one day, robots will self-improve and innovate as well and if humans do continue to innovate, their source of inspiration will diminish as innovation comes from real life experiences; problems and solutions. If anything, humans will try to resolve the socioeconomic problems that robots may bring about. Robots … designed by humans … creating problems for humans.
On the flip side, robots can be a good thing for humanity. They do the dangerous things that humans can avoid; from mining to iron and steel manufacturing. Help put out fires and save people under rubbles. They can save us plenty of time in doing the things that waste our time. For some, it is cleaning and groceries. For others, it is mowing the lawn and shoveling the snow. For some, it is driving and carrying the heavy stuff. The question is however, who decides what is a waste of time?