What happens in 2050

 

What happens in 2050

In this edition of our Future Trends article series, we’re looking at the ways that technology is changing and what will be most significant to society as it relates to workforces, jobs, and how people interact with each other.

The question of whether robots will take over a lot of human-related tasks or not comes up quite frequently these days. From manufacturing to healthcare to shopping, there are plenty of companies making big claims on robotics. But while I’ve seen some robot automation being tested here and there, I’ve felt like I’ve been watching movies for years rather than reading about the possibilities. Here’s why AI and machines might do certain tasks better than humans.

AI & Robots Are Not Coming For You Any Time Soon

Many entrepreneurs have jumped into the hype, but so far, only one company has made real profits on their AI efforts: DeepMind. The London based firm helped Google develop AlphaGo, which eventually beat former world champion Lee Se-dol in match play after beating itself within hours of start time. Other AI startups like OpenAI, OpenX, or Hanson Robotics.

 

I was excited by the idea that AI could make my job obsolete. And then I saw another possibility: If you could build an AI robot that can replace me when called in for dinner, would that help bring more human interaction back? Yes, it may but it’s still uncertain as to how much it’ll cost us and how long it will take until we see something that actually works. So no matter what scenario you live in, robots might not be coming for your food any time soon.

 

Robots Will Be Working More Like People Than People Who Work Robotic Machines Want To Get Away With

You may think that having a self-driving car is all fun and games but if you look around you, self-driving cars are getting more complex. They can now be used to control everything from lights and thermostats to water pressure and gas levels. One of the best examples is Tesla, who just raised $1 billion for their new driverless ride sharing service. It’s going to take a whole lot of planning to make such a move happen fast. Just compare them to Amazon Go, where they didn’t need to create any physical convenience stores to drive their delivery vans. That means they have the same amount of retail space as the typical mall that’s usually open 24/7. Even though this is just a demo, a few weeks ago Elon Musk predicted that we will eventually get autonomous trucks that can operate without a human on board. We could get as close as we want to in decades but it’s going to feel very robotic to just walk out of the store and pick up a coffee or make a cup of tea when it arrives.

 

But if cars could become fully autonomous by the end of the decade, that could change the way that I work. Imagine myself working remotely because you only needed someone to drive around. Or maybe even driving around? Sure, it would need to be someone willing to give up the steering wheel. But with self-driving cars, you don’t need a driver anymore. At least, you wouldn’t do anything else but simply leave the house to go to work. How easy that would be?

People Can Still Get Their Car Back When An Automatic Uber Goes AWOL (Or No)

Many of us enjoy renting trucks every week but one thing truck rental companies are starting to realize is that they need to find a different client — people who pay an extra monthly fee for the convenience. Because they have had enough driverless taxi interactions, people really love them. As self-driving cars are rolling into the streets, the competition for drivers continues to heat up as Lyft tries to compete with Uber. This makes perfect sense since Uber started aggressively hiring people to work their rides. Once they figure out why people want their own vehicles, they might also figure out what type of services they would like. Maybe they prefer more flexibility with the hours, or perhaps they prefer safe options when dealing with kids.

The good news for truck rental companies is that people will still want to go to work every day, they just might prefer it to happen in person instead of over the phone.

Robots Might Just Drive Us Apart By Making Our Work Easier And Cheaper

Robots and artificial intelligence will probably only make things easier, cheaper, and simpler but people will certainly get more done when they do, especially now that AI software engineers no longer have to spend hours coding code from a computer screen. I’m pretty sure that as long as we can afford office desks, high chairs, and printers, we can keep doing whatever we want. We can even get rid of our laptops and have an entirely automated future world of work. We just need people.

So yes, technology changes will occur, but those will not outweigh the benefits.

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