Have you ever sat and thought about what role humans will play once AI automates more and more tasks? It’s probably something that’s crossed your mind. However, there seem to be two extreme viewpoints when asked about this.
On the one hand, some people are convinced that we will be replaced by robots and that AI and automation should be seen as something negative. The other extreme view is that this is simply a phase and that there is no way that long-term AI and humans can coexist. We aren’t sure if we agree with either sentiment.
When looking at AI logically, it’s clear that we are living and existing in a day and age where technology is king - and without even realising, we are already coexisting with AI through the technology we already use. We’ve been micro-dosed with AI for years, from using Siri and Alexa to built-in satellite navigation tools.
Automation vs being replaced
To say that we will be completely replaced is an extreme assumption. However, with a lot of mundane tasks being automated, there is a threat that AI or robots can replace some jobs. A report conducted in March 2023 by Goldman Sachs found that AI can substitute up to 25% of current work, with two-thirds of jobs exposed to some degree of automation. In essence, the technicalities of roles that can be replicated by robots seem to be inevitable. However, there will always be a need for humans, the need will just change over time.
“[robots] are hard-wired, literally, to perform highly specific and clearly structured tasks. This is great news for humans—we get to pass off the mundane repetitive tasks and adopt those that require critical thinking and problem-solving based on human intuition.” - Forbes
Emotional and human connection is key
Regardless of whether all technical roles were replaced by robots, there is one thing that cannot be replaced, and that’s the emotional and human connection that real people provide. Although we all benefit and enjoy AI to some degree, it’s still artificial and isn’t a sustainable long-term replacement. We cannot live life through a synthetic lens - which is why robots will be unable to replicate the complexities of being human.
“Machines cannot have a human soul; they cannot learn to feel or have human instincts, they cannot reproduce the versatility and unpredictability of human magic. They can have artificial empathy, but it will be as different from human empathy as a plastic flower from the real one.” - Towards Data Science
What skill sets can’t robots replace?
Empathy: Although some humans can struggle to understand empathy, on the whole, we can put ourselves in others’ shoes and be a sounding board when we’re needed most.
Creative thinking: AI can think of ideas quickly, but they’re often a carbon copy (or regurgitated copy) of something that is already out there. AI doesn’t have the capacity to think in a creative or out-of-the-box way, as it still has to be programmed by a human to think effectively.
Collaboration: True collaboration within teams can take a lot of time to master, and requires individuals to know each other well on a professional and personal level, as well as be able to share and adapt ideas. Although robots and AI have a degree of collaboration, there is a limit to what can be achieved. For example, AI-based platforms can integrate within a team environment, but will always be seen as an “add-on” due to their capacities.
Communication: Of course, robots can communicate and there are high-level AI platforms where communication can be clear and concise, but it’s still considered clunky in comparison to how humans can communicate and interact with each other.
We’re interested to see how AI will continue to develop over the next few years.
Do you think we’ll be replaced by robots? Let us know in the comments below.
