Are friendlier robots our teammates – or our rivals?

[Nipuna]

INDUSTRIAL robots, long caged up like zoo animals, are now safe enough to work in the open alongside humans. And not only are they physically compatible with us – but they're also learning our psychology ("Trading places with us makes robots better teammates").

So robots can now be teammates as well as tools. But will cheap robots seize jobs from more costly humans?

To some extent, yes. Removing physical constraints will only increase the range of tasks that robots can perform – particularly repetitive jobs that exhaust humans, such as filling up crates or repeatedly fetching objects. It is easy to picture a company like Amazon, which has invested heavily in robotics, rolling out this technology as soon as it makes sense to do so. AI that helps robots bond with co-workers can only hasten that turning point.

Some humans' jobs do look vulnerable. There will probably be painful disruption, as with industrial revolutions past. But there are also likely to be jobs created where none existed before: for example, by small businesses that cannot afford human labourers. Their robots will still need human bosses – for now at least.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Only robots need apply…"