If you're in a job performing tedious tasks, you might think that a robot could do the work instead. But perhaps we underestimate how much technology already helps with the activities that we would otherwise have to do.  And as artificial intelligence progresses we might find it replaces us in the workplace altogether.

 

For now, robotic technology is providing a helping¹ hand for businesses, particularly in manufacturing, assisting humans in performing work more efficiently² and sometimes more accurately³. For online shopping, for example, robots have become essential in giant warehouses⁴. They sort and move millions of objects of all different shapes and sizes, although humans are still needed to pick and distribute the goods.

 

The advancement⁵ of robotics in the workplace is good for some businesses; the ones who research, develop, build and use them. The British government estimates that by 2035, artificial intelligence could add around £630bn to the UK economy. But there are still tasks that robots can't yet do, and that's the challenge for companies such as Automata. Its co-founder, Suryansh Chandra, told the BBC that his technology will eliminate boring, repetitive jobs that humans don't like and aren't very good at, and also create new ones that are likely to replace them.

 

It seems inevitable⁶ that robots will eventually be able to do more and more of the jobs that are currently performed by humans, so should we be worried by the rise of the machines? Some experts fear hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear as robots replace human workers. A report by the OECD suggests that 14% of jobs are "at high risk of automation" and 32% of jobs could be "radically⁷ transformed", with the manufacturing sector⁸ at the highest risk.

 

But as complete automation is some way off, for now we'll have to work side-by-side with our robot colleagues - and manage to get along with them before they learn to kick us out of the door!

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