The Crucial Role of Robots and Automation in the Labour Market
Growing market for robotic vacuum cleaners underlines the two sides to the automation argument: first the advantage of cheap and efficient labour capable of handling repetitive tasks but second is the fear of smart robots becoming job stealers
The fact that Robotics will revolutionize the residential, commercial and industrial sectors is indisputable. A lot of repetitive and mundane tasks that require very little critical thinking or problem-solving skills will go for automation. Robots are precise, more productive, they make less mistakes and work harder than the average human. Automation is not just a minor glitch, a fleeting trend in the job market, it has the potential to completely redefine the dynamics of how human beings live and work. Perhaps more than anything else, robotics will be the defining idea of the 21st century. Case in point being the humble robotic vacuum cleaner.
Today’s robotic vacuum cleaning models are very convenient to use; they are small and can fit under furniture etc. to ensure thorough cleaning of floors. They don’t need any guidance; you can turn it on and leave home and let the robot do the work. They are self-charging; these robots finish work and go back to their docking stations where they charge themselves when not cleaning. All in all, the perfect example of how automation is expected to work in the next few years. While the robots in today’s day and age are lightyears behind the run of the mill AI stereotype, the robotics sector is progressing rapidly towards that eventuality.
As with the global outcry over job automation, the problem as well as the industry itself is still in a nascent stage. In fact, as per a TechSci Research report titled “Global Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Market By Type, By End User, By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012 – 2022”, a leading reason for the non-use of robotic vacuum cleaners in developed countries is something comical; pet proliferation. Human beings are concerned about electrocution and are also afraid about their pets breaking their robotic vacuum cleaners. Inasmuch, until these issues are rectified, many prospective customers will refuse to buy such products. While we are still very far away from the reality of omnipresent automation so well beloved of sci fi writers, the very immediate future holds no such promise; however, don’t count robots out just yet.
The robotics industry in general seems to suffer from a self-defeating prophecy, of sorts. As discussed within the TechSci report, one of the major causes for the proliferation of these machines is the rising participation of women, particularly, in the labour force. As more and more women start working outside their homes, time spent on domestic chores goes down and as time spent goes down, people start relying on automation and robots to do these chores. As smarter robots are created, offices, commercial areas etc. will start getting automated, which will lead to downsizing in the labour force. It is tricky to predict what will happen in the future but one cannot doubt the role automation will play in it.
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