Book a stay at Japan’s Henn-na Hotel this summer, and you’ll be taking a trip into our technological future. Among the staff gearing up for the hotel’s grand opening are 10 humanoid robots. These clever creations, as pictured above, can look you in the eye, check you in, carry your bags, and clean your room. Impressed yet? What if you knew that they could also address you fluently in 4 different languages?
Down the line, the management intend for the robots to carry out 90% of all hotel services, and they will be more cost effective and efficient than their human counterparts. They won’t get tired or moody. They won’t demand double the salary over Christmas. And they definitely won’t be distracted by Lady Gaga’s latest publicity stunt or the Manchester City match now showing live on TV.
It’s time for the human race to face a reality check: machines are in many ways superior. In the past two years, Google has splashed out on 8 robotics companies and strengthened its position as a front-runner in the fields of self-driving cars and internet-connected household items. Facebook’s acquisitions indicate that it is also innovating in this space, while Amazon has promised investors that it will utilize 10,000 robots in its distribution centers. In the next two years, China plans to more than double its numbers of industrial robots so that it can compete with other manufacturing-heavy economies.
Fast-forward to the decades ahead, and an Oxford study estimates that close to half of all current UK jobs will be in jeopardy. Almost 50%! The technology is already being developed for a future where machines are safer on the roads than taxi drivers, more profitable when trading than bankers, quicker at composing product descriptions than writers, and better at detecting disease than doctors.
It’s no wonder that tech stocks are hot right now. Yet, while there’s no question about the wide-ranging marvels that technology can achieve, analysts are torn about the economic impact of this new era. Some feel optimistic about the ability of humans to adapt to new and evolving industries, as happened after the industrial revolution. Others fear that society will become divided into the rich who control the robots and the poor who cook, manicure, and offer other personal services to the rich.
Today’s young professionals wanting to stay on top of the job market have no choice but to be adaptable and tech-savvy. And if all else fails, well, brush up on your culinary skills.
