Replacing Us With WHAT?

Recently on the news I saw a segment about human workers in Japan beginning to be replaced with human-like robots.  The reporter went into a Japanese business and did a profile on the robot secretary, who was able to direct xin_4820306120842734319127clients to their appointments and even scowl at the client if they were rude.  Robots in Japan are becoming a necessity as their population ages and they do not encourage immigration into Japan.  To assist the large aging population, Japanese engineers have come up with a robot human to lift patients in retirement homes from their beds to their wheel chairs and help them with their daily routines.  When I saw this, I was in complete awe – I can’t believe that human-like robots are beginning to do the jobs of human beings.

By Katrina, July 15th, 2009   |   in   Uncategorized   |   2 comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Nichole July 15th, 2009 11:27 am

    Right now, with unemployment at the rate that it is, it’s hard to give thought to robots replacing humans and the workplace.

    I want to think that it may be a good idea for roles that don’t require human contact especially since there are some many complaints on automated attendants.

    My main concern, using the instance of a robot secretary, is what happens to the human who has secretarial skills? Is this a chance to provide other opportunities for this particular skilled worker? Will providing robots in certain positions push people to be become experts in other areas?

    Needs more thought.

  2. fiona July 15th, 2009 1:07 pm

    Thanks for your comment Nichole and thoughts on the robot secretary. If the robot secretary was introduced into North America, I think it would put a lot of workers out of a job; whereas in Japan, I think the robot secretary gives skilled secretarial workers opportunities in other work areas they may not have considered in the past.
    -Katrina

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