Elon Musk has introduced his Optimus humanoid robots. Yes, we’ve all seen this story before — remember iRobot?

People have debated whether robots and technology are taking away what humans were meant to do, and of course, there are valid ideas and concerns on both sides.

Humans vs robots | Are we really getting replaced?

Not really.

I was listening to the 20VC episode yesterday, and the guest mentioned that technological advances have eliminated routinely dangerous and demeaning work for humans; think mine excavation, bomb detection, and manufacturing with dangerous equipment… 

The standpoint from another angle is that technology and robots are replacing humans and making us obsolete. 

I tend to lean toward the camp that robots are larger home appliances that make tending to your home and other chores easier. 

What if you didn’t have to go to get the dry cleaning? 

What if you didn’t have to wash the dishes, wipe the countertop, or even load the machine? 

Or, in a slightly more serious situation, what if the robot could be added to help or protection if there were an intruder in the house?

They are also on the path of relieving us of the routine tasks at work:

• Customer service calls can first go through trained AI agents, and escalated as needed. Chatbots have existed for many years, and most of them sucked, but the new AI agents can be better trained on data, which hopefully makes them better at handling more customer problems prior to escalating them to a human customer representative.

• Data input. Do you want to sit at your desk inputting line items all day? Automated connections between apps and your Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets could save you time. These automatons existed with Zapier and IFTTT, but now you could also have ChatGPT summarize key items, analyze and pull data from spreadsheets, and complete more advanced data manipulation tasks.

The replacement of artists and the deprivation of the process of creation

Will it replace all the creative work we do? McDonald’s, Adidas, and other brands have created entire ads out of AI, and while you can still tell the ads are made from AI, some would argue that the ads are still getting the marketing message across with a smaller budget: no team on location, permits to close down streets for filming, extras roaming around in the background, stylists or makeup artists to fuss over artists, payments to use the artist/model’s likeness… this is just an excerpt of the costs associated with the production of a commercial. 

On the other hand, I can empathize with artists, designers, and creators who may feel deprived of the energy that the process of creating and producing art gives them. I feel this way when I pick up a camera to take photos, spend time editing the lighting and colour, or work on my craft. Time seems to fade away.

Many writers may also feel deprived of meaning in their work now that an LLM can write in their style and produce large bodies of content in their style and tone within seconds(!). I know I am in this camp because now everything could sound the same as what I thought was ‘my style’. It took away the fun part, which was the process and discovery of creation. 

In a sense, we aren’t mad that they’re so-called ‘taking our jobs’; we’re frustrated that they’re taking our joy.

There is still value in the human touch

Is there anything positive about this situation? For now, robots haven’t replaced humans in terms of our ability to feel and process emotions. Let me share a recent experience that made me realize the value of human connection (and the lack thereof).

I moved to a new office two weeks ago, and finding a new cafe haunt has been a disappointing endeavour. I realized that nowhere offered the same welcoming, engaging, and friendly vibe of my favourite cafe steps from my old office. It didn’t come down to just the product or the ambiance and decor; the greatest missing component was the people. My all-time favourite barista, Debbie, would ask how my day was, comment on my outfit, and say, “Have a great day!” as I left. She and her team would notice if I was tired, in a foul mood, or inquire about the good news if I looked excited about something. There was a sense of community and care that will be hard to replace.

Compare this enthusiasm and attentiveness to the dull “what can I get for you” from my new neighbourhood cafes. After I had given my order, the barista walked off to clean a table, make another coffee, or attend to the next customer asking for a pastry while I was looking at the blue and white tipping screen. Instead of a name, I am known as ‘Large Oat Latte’ to the baristas.

This is why there is still a place for human interaction, at least as long as we deal with other humans in our daily lives and business. If robots start to grow a conscience and start talking to each other in their language (for those who have read Klara and the Sun or Stowaway to Mars), they may prefer to deal with each other and even develop their own ecosystem. Until then, there is value in the human touch, and robotics can enhance our daily lives depending on how we engage with it.