Current robots are only able to replace people in very limited circumstances. And people don’t want to work in factories. They want more comfortable jobs. That is what happens when standards of living and education rise. All people everywhere aspire to better lives.
Rodney Brooks- Robot Engineer

Quick Tech Futures joke? A textile mill has been automated. The mill only has two employees: a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog. The dog is there to keep the man away from the machines. This joke in various forms is repeated in terms of the impact of automation and robotics on almost all types of work. Like all jokes, there’s a grain of truth and even revelation in it.

McKinsey Global Institute estimates up to a third of the American workforce will have to switch to new occupations, not jobs, by 2030. Why? Robot disruption. Robot Tech Futures memes: Bots are coming. They’ve landed.

They’ve taken your job. Bots will take over knowledge work. They will erase your kid’s future. These have been the fear based memes since the Terminator movies.

Story: To blunt robot and Terminator stereotypes, personal robots look laughably friendly to increase our acceptance of them and sound approachable. Think of Alexa and Siri bots. We’re used to their voices and what they do. Robots help our kids solve math problems. Cobots work with us on critical decision making. Home bots clean our homes. Factory bots lift heavy objects and do our dangerous work. Bots will motor you around as you get older. Killer bots will fight our wars.

Work Lesson Earned: Tech supporters believe robots will end repetitive work and create opportunities for creative work. There will be time to offer individualized services such as school tutoring or working with the homeless. Work will be disrupted and give us more free time, but with fewer workers.

The reality is no one really knows what Tech Futures will look like. Dystopia? Utopia? What I do know is companies, governments, society, and workers are not ready for Future Of Work  Disruption