Humans and Robots on a Crash Course

You've all seen sci-fi movies... A world with robots and humans coexisting seems foreign, and completely fictional and irrational. But the reality is that the labor force in many lines of work has a big, efficient, and intimidating rival. The robot.

The futuristic 2004 motion picture "iRobot" painted a picture of what the world could be like with intelligent machines roaming the streets. It also proposed the possibility of an apocalyptic outcome in which they "save us from ourselves."

While this scenario may remain fiction for the time being, we do have a robot problem. They're just too damn good at what they do. A 60 minutes feature on robots in a Volkswagen manufacturing factory highlighted this. They're efficient, low risk, and don't require salaries, which saves money in the long run. What's not to like for businesses?

Well, remember that whole unemployment problem that we have been dealing with? I don't see how the inclusion of robots into manufacturing positions could improve that at all. Because of the ideas that media and movies have put into our head, we see it essential to have the latest and greatest technology. But what if that technology puts people out of the workforce? What happens if we keep creating these automated machines and they completely replace the value of human work?