The long-debated development of robotics and AI technology is preparing to enter its climactic culmination. We have often wondered as to how advanced a robot can become.
Whether through movies, novels or video games, humanity has explored the questions of artificial intelligence and what would happen if robots became sentient. However, we are closer than ever to that vision becoming a reality, and with it, an important question becomes predominant: How long until we become obsolete and outdated as a species?
On being human
People have often been attributed with developments in manufacture, production and innovation in the global sphere. Factory workers, engineers and other personnel have worked tirelessly to create the world we live in today. In their labor, they have also sought to create automated systems that will make labor easier and more manageable. Thus they came to create first glimpses of AI technology.
Decades later, we face machine learning algorithms, AI-driven virtual assistants and autonomous factories free of human workers. We have effectively become the instruments of our undoing in doing so. The global unemployment rate follows a downward spiral, meaning that there are less unemployed people today than ever before. However, once we started creating robotic counterparts to factory and physical workers, we have effectively shifted the balance of employment in favor of automation.
People with low or no education have a harder time finding work due to process automation. More and more job openings ask for IT knowledge, expertise in coding, programming, science and marketing. In essence, any process that is impossible to perform by an AI still requires a human touch to be performed effectively – the emphasis is on “still”.
Advancements in robotics
Stating that robots can perform mechanical tasks is very abstract and unclear. Let’s take a look at some of the processes and tasks that robots are already capable of performing even better than their human counterparts:
- Robots are able to cook food – They can prepare meals based on human orders, thus eliminating the need for people as cooks and chefs.
- Robots are able to perform music – Based on sheets of music and algorithms, robots are able to conduct musical pieces created by humans. Robots are also able to create synthesized musical tracks based on analysis of existing pieces.
- Robots are capable of handling pharmaceutical operations – Having your prescription medication handled by a robot isn’t entirely impossible in the near future.
- Robots can create clothing – They are capable of sowing, knitting and creating new pieces of clothing based on preprogrammed specs. This is already a practice in many factories across the world.
These are only a handful of examples of what robots are already capable of doing as of this moment. If you look at the examples carefully, you can see a pattern forming around them.
Robots are able to conduct repeated mechanical tasks that don’t require creativity or intuition. Even if they are able to create music that music is electronic and based on reanalyzed music created by humans. So what does this mean in the grand scheme of things?
Future coexistence
As advanced and omnipotent as robots can be, they still fall short of human abilities. Most notably, robots are not sentient the same way we are. They are unable of creating new thoughts, art, innovation or ideation. In essence, they can only do what humans decide they can do. Even artificial intelligence is a culmination of data and programming aimed at making sure that the robot is capable of using that data effectively.
Professions such as design, art, writing, marketing and others are entirely safe from advancements of robotics. For example, the very content we digest on the internet on a daily basis is created by professional writers – humans. These writers often work for best essay writing companies such asFlash Essay and offer expert writing services for websites that are in dire need of quality content.
Tasks such as these are not properly fitted for robots – they can’t comprehend them. This means that every profession based around creation and advancement doesn’t need to fear robotics. Utilizing everything that robotics has to offer to make our own work and life easier is something we should all be striving for.
Growing opportunities (Conclusion)
Coexistence is entirely possible given the nature of robots and humans, as well as their respective abilities. Just as we are able to imagine, robots are able to work tirelessly. Such a combination will only bear fruit in the future, should we continue to develop relevant technologies at a steady pace.
There is no “us versus them” since we are the ones that created robots out of necessity for a better life. The better argument we should look forward to is “us and them”, as we continue to grow, create and innovate as a global civilization.
