For quite some time, we have been coming across numerous discussions on how Artificial Intelligence and Robotics will snatch away human labor in many fields. One such is an old study conducted by AI researchers from Oxford University. Though the analysis is relatively old, it offers some sharp insights.
The study cites a time when robots would take over different types of human labor like driving trucks, folding laundry, writing a best-selling novel, and performing surgeries. And it says, “There is at least a 50 percent chance that all of ‘human labor’ could be done by robots in about 120 years.” So, where are we heading to? Let’s be straight–development or catastrophe?
Presume we have moved closer to this 120 and odd years from now. Machines (AI-powered automated tools) would be preferred to carry out various types of human labor. Because they will be able to do them better than humans in terms of precision and efficiency. As we may expect, the first phase of robots taking over human labor would be seen as a boon to humans–a luxury in the beginning.
Eventually, robots would be seen as an essential domestic companion and a commercial necessity to fight competition. Robots will become like any other consumer goods that come into the market. Sellers will try to maximize their market share by bringing cheaper alternatives. And sooner or later, they will become as common a tool as smartphones today.
Further, as owners of wealth start replacing humans with robots, there will be a widespread loss of employment in many areas where humans find labor today. With ‘engaging robotic tools’ becoming a trend in the industry, together with large-scale production of Robots, AI will become cheaper than human labor.
Eventually, there might come a time when humans desperately seeking employment turn willing to work for ‘mean wages’ just to fend for themselves and their families. It will be nothing short of slavery, though it may not be called so. The nasty side of science gone wrong due to human greed will become clearly visible at various levels. Then, what’s concealed and fabricated today as progressive will start appearing raw and outrightly destructive.