The robotics revolution is rapidly accelerating. It is clear that in the future, robots will continue to take over many tasks that are currently carried out by humans. Although this development presents some threats, I believe that the advantages associatedwith it are far greater.
Robots have a number of strengths. To start, they are much better suited to hazardous environments and can save people from working with explosives,chemicals or in production areas with high temperatures. Machines also do not need holidays or sick leave. For example, a repetitive manufacturing process, which is today performed by hundreds of bored workers, could soon be done by robots and a handful of well-paid employees supervising them. Higher productivity and profits achieved through the widespread use of robots will subsequently help spur the creation of new more interesting jobs that people could do instead.
Despite these significant advantages, robotisation will be far from painless. First of all, a lot of jobs will be lost in a relatively short period of time. The displaced people will have to be retrained in order to find new jobs, although most will likely be able to successfully upskill with time. Another downside is that robots are likely to replace humans in many customer-facing roles, such as waiters or salespeople. This will result in human interactions becoming more limited and people feeling lonelier than ever. Additionally, it may become harder to resolve issues that robots have not been programmed to deal with. In short, robots are likely to bring certain disruptions that people will have to overcome.
To conclude, robots can lead us to a more prosperous world and liberate people from dull and dangerous jobs. This is why I believe that the advantages of robotisation clearly outweigh the potential drawbacks. However, to enjoy the benefits that robots can bring, people will have to adapt and learn new skills.