Anything that changes the way we work can be unsettling. This is what occurred on a grand scale during the Industrial Revolution, and it also happened to a much lesser extent within living memory. The introduction of desktop computers in the late 1980s and early ‘90s forced us all to reassess our roles and change our working lives.


For example, many secretaries were no longer required to type letters when their former bosses began composing their own emails on computers. Other jobs also became obsolete such as manual compositing by typesetters which was suddenly more easily achievable via computers. But people adapted, new skills were learned and computers were employed to improve and streamline working processes.


People are social creatures and in the long term we are unlikely to accept a working world that is populated solely by robots. And this has certainly been demonstrated at Japan’s Henn-na Hotel.


The news emerged in January this year that the hotel was to ‘fire’ half its robot staff and replace them with humans. The decision was made as a result of multiple issues: the robot porters were only able to access around a quarter


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of the rooms, for example, because they were unable to navigate slopes. They would also frequently become stuck in corridors when trying to pass each other.


The velociraptor robot receptionists were unable to carry out practical tasks such as photocopying guests’ passports which meant humans had to take over some check-in duties.


And the doll-like androids in each room were incapable of answering simple questions and would frequently interrupt guests’ conversations. One hotel visitor complained that his android mistook his snoring for commands and repeatedly woke him up during the night to ask him to repeat his ‘requests’.


There is no doubt that robots are coming and they will become a pivotal part of our future. They will also become increasingly intelligent and will gradually fulfil ever more sophisticated roles. But some tasks will always be better operated by people and there is every indication that tomorrow’s robots will serve to supplement, rather than replace us.


www.tork.co.uk TECHNOLOGY | 17


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