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Freedom from Drudgery

The robot revolution may do more than free you from the drudgery of long hours of hard labor. It may also bring relief from tedious monotony and assembly-line boredom. Moreover, not only are these steel-collar robots replacing blue-collar workers; they are also moving in on white-collar jobs. The robots are on the march!

THE growing robot invasion is opening the way for people not to retire from work but to move into more challenging jobs. As robots replace people and relieve them of dangerous or laborious or boringly repetitious work, people move on to positions that require human intellect and specialized training​—jobs that are beyond robot capabilities. It is popular today to exalt robots above people, and their computer-brains above human brains. But it should be remembered that people make robots and robot “brains.” Robots can’t make people or human brains. Once this is understood, then we may keep in proper perspective the great boon robots can be in delivering us from drudgery.

At present, Japan is leading the robot revolution. But other nations are awakening to the possibilities. Or, rather, more accurately, they are aware that to compete they must embrace this new technology. A new Toyota plant uses robots in all production stages. Other Japanese automakers use them not only to cut down on workers but also to improve product quality. No longer is the use of robots limited to big businesses. Small factories also are putting them to work. Their versatility is expanding rapidly, and, as it does, their invasion spreads from factories to offices and to homes.

A “cleaning robot” also serves as a night watchman. A “secretarial robot” writes letters, stamps them with the executive’s signature, formulates schedules and reminds him of appointments. One “medical robot” with 25 “fingers” examines a woman’s breasts and relays its findings to a computer system that detects cancerous growths or other abnormalities. Still another robot can . . . but maybe we should hear more about this first hand, from a robot itself.

This one’s story sounds a little like bragging in places, but even after making allowances for this human frailty, it’s still an impressive tale. Let’s listen to it.