For a long time, the promise of automation was simple, to replace human labor, but what is happening now is a little more complex, in the United States, especially in California, a new role has emerged, robot caregivers, yes, people who receive a salary to accompany, even maintain “rescuing”, delivery robots as they circulate through cities.

These machines used by delivery companies already operate on the streets, carrying orders, navigating the sidewalks and interacting with the urban environment, but in practice they still do not work alone, when a robbery blocks, falls, encounters an obstacle or simply fails to complete a delivery, someone must intervene and these workers come in. They were previously delivery people and when replaced by robots they obtained the profession of “robot babysitters.”

They pick it up, recharge batteries, perform maintenance, update systems and often still physically help with deliveries, i.e. the work robot, but it still relies on humans to function. This creates a curious situation and instead of independent drivers or delivery people, fleet operators emerge, hired by the hour responsible for keeping these machines in continuous operation.

The numbers show this transition, these workers receive between $21 and $23 per hour, which may be more than what some delivery workers earn, but still below what is necessary for a comfortable standard of living in regions like California and that raises an important question, Are these robots creating new opportunities or simply replacing one type of work with another more controlled and less flexible? or simply the robots have not reached the necessary level to do the job alone and require a human caregiver while Robotis solves the problems, because unlike delivery apps, where the worker can connect and disconnect whenever they want, these operators follow fixed shifts, taking care of machines that in theory were created to replace them.

The impact of this is not yet entirely clear, delivery automation is still in its early stages and factors such as regulation and public acceptance may influence its expansion, but something is already visible. Technology is not just eliminating functions, it is redesigning the human role within these systems. And perhaps that is the most relevant change, because the future of work may not be about humans or machines, but about humans working to keep machines running and that completely changes the question.

It is no longer just thefts that will take away jobs, but what kind of work will be left when they arrive completely?