Could COVID-19 accelerate the robot takeover in the workplace?

The future of work has been debated for some time, and any such conversation on the topic will invariably come around to how robots could and probably will make many of the jobs we have today obsolete tomorrow. While those roles that require and benefit from human intervention will certainly remain, is it possible that the robot revolution can be good for business – for all of us?

Technology and machines have been making jobs redundant for decades, but the pandemic is speeding up the process of robots replacing humans in their jobs. The economic effects of COVID-19, coupled with a need for increased safety measures, means automation is being accelerated.

A robotic future?

In the age of coronavirus, machines are more reliable. They don’t fall ill and don’t need to self-isolate. 40 million US workers lost their jobs at the peak of the pandemic, and one group of economist estimates 42 per cent of those jobs lost are now gone forever.

Robots are now being used to perform roles workers cannot do from home. In South Korea, robots are being used to measure temperatures and distribute hand sanitiser. In the US, Walmart uses robots to clean the floor. McDonald’s have been testing robots as cooks and servers, and in Amazon warehouses robots are already used to improve the efficiency of sorting, shipping and packing. It is estimated that robots could replace 2 million manufacturing workers by 2025.

In the US, the government actively incentivises companies to automate by using tax breaks.  For organisations that are struggling with the financial effects of the pandemic, automation is an easy choice. Robot workers are more cost-effective. They can work 24/7, don’t take time off, and can boost productivity for many organisations.

Before the pandemic, robots were already being developed which can replace teachers, fitness instructors and financial advisors. COVID-19 has made the possibility of this AI more likely. Lockdown has meant we are more comfortable working through a screen, and AI advocates argue the instructor or adviser on the screen does not need to be a real person.

Business implications

Automation means companies simply no longer need as many employees. Low wage workers are most at risk as these are the jobs that are most easily transferable. During 2020, we saw call centres turn into chatbots, security guards into patrol robots and cleaners into machines. These changes are an insight into how the future may look. Those who lost their jobs could be unemployed for a significant amount of time.

It is now not just low paid workers who are at risks, artificial intelligence is becoming more adept at jobs that were once unreplaceable. In 2020, Microsoft made headlines by replacing their journalists with AI, and JPMorgan now has AI reviewing commercial-loan agreements. McKinsey found 22 per cent of current work activities or 53 million jobs in Europe could be automated by 2030.

Businesses should prepare for automation to continue in the long-time. As companies look to the future, the economic effects of COVID-19 will likely mean they turn to technology to replace staff levels. The pandemic has also shown how robots can be used to protect staff and increase business output. Automation has the possibility of financial and social gains for both employee and employer.