Tired of working? Get a robot "YOU" and become redundant.

We live in a world in which the human is fast becoming redundant; A world where machines are becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives. They work more efficiently, without human frailty and often much cheaper than a human being can. After all, machines don’t take annual leave, sick days, public holidays, lunch breaks, carer’s leave, maternity or paternity leave, arrive late, leave early, steal from the employer or make workers compensation and harassment claims. They need retraining rarely and can operate 24 hours a day, every day, without complaint, need for reward or even a thank you. The perfect worker? Maybe, maybe not.

Imagine a world with no cashiers, train, bus or taxi drivers and no airline pilots or check-in ground-crew. In that world you order your take-away food through a computer screen, get your tax done online without an accountant and try on clothing at the department store prior to putting your own transaction through the register without assistance. You also shop online via computer, check-in and label your own luggage at the airport and order meals direct to your home without leaving the couch.

That world is now. Who knows what it will look like in 5 years. 10 Years…

I was speaking with a mate on the weekend who has been working at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital to get it set up an running. It’s supposed to be a state-of-the-art facility. Apparently instead of the meal service being pushed around by people a robot-server on wheels is loaded in the kitchen and sent, by itself with no supervision, to the ward and the hungry patients. No humans involved. It simply follows lines set in the floor, enters elevators, goes through doors and arrives (hopefully) at the right place. Service with a smile? Let’s just call it service. I recently also checked into a flight in Singapore’s Changi Airport completely autonomously. I printed my boarding pass and luggage tag, tagged it up and dropped the bag at the counter all without the assistance of another human.

Modern society at its best and most innovative.

The issue for me though is that I like a certain amount of human interaction. I know we live in a fast-paced world and that saving a millisecond here and there will allow us more time to get social on our social-media sites (that was sarcasm by the way) but I still like a personal touch, the ability to ask a question of a human and have some sort of human response. Pressing buttons on a touch screen just doesn’t do it for me. How many jobs are redundant due to the advancement of technology? Think about all those customs officers at Singapore airport that lost their jobs now they do face and fingerprint screening when entering and leaving Singapore. It’s the same coming back into Australia too, minus the fingerprint. Just scan your passport, look at the screen and if you get the green light you’re in! Everywhere you look people are being replaced. No customs guys in sight in the image below.

This post was prompted by a headline I read about a large fast food chain removing people from their ordering and payment process altogether. I don’t know who it was because I shun media at the best of times and am not a fan of clickbait news on social media. The point is that when technology replaces jobs there’s generally nowhere for the displaced worker to go for work. How do they live? Sure, the technology needs someone to work behind the scenes…For how much longer will that be the case though? Rise of the machines? They made a few good movies around this central theme. Humans didn’t fare too well.

We’ve all had bad experiences with human customer service and some would say a machine would make for a better experience but I am not so sure.

It’s great when you’re young, supple of mind and tech-savvy but at some stage you won’t be. You’ll be older, less apprised of the latest technology, slower of mind and body in an ever-faster world. I think about an elderly person trying to work out the ATM to withdraw or deposit money, or maybe trying to pair a Bluetooth device or set up their broadband at home. Think about yourself later in life, 80 years old for instance. What new technologies will exist that you don’t comprehend. Will you be saying, I remember the days when I had to fly from place to place in an airplane… in a world where the latest tech transports you there in a millisecond by activating your teleportation device on your mind-controlled smart chip implanted in your left temple…Provided you know how to work the tech. Yeah I know, you can’t picture it. Being old and out of date I mean. But it happens: To everyone.

Anyway, for now I better get moving. I have to get into my car, drive to a meeting, conduct the business and return to my office and write a report…If only I had a robot me to front up at work on my behalf. I could be lying beside the pool drinking an Asahi and nibbling on snacks like all the redundant humans below.

Here’s to the future of computer and robot workers and a world where our own relentless pursuit of "easier and faster" has made us redundant.

Thanks for reading.