Every time it’s said that robots will take our jobs, we imagine an ideal world in which factories run without humans, offices run without delays, and hospitals run without errors. We see in our imagination a metal employee who does not ask for a salary increase, is not late because of traffic, or is absent because his son is sick. But we forget that this heroic robot may crash because it did not update the software, or refuse to work because its battery is low, or stand still in the corner waiting for someone to restart it.
Imagine if your company replaced the janitor with a smart robot. On the first day, he works energetically and calmly, polishing floors and dodging chairs with military precision. On the second day, he begins to complain silently, standing in the corner because he “does not recognize the environment.” On the third day, a mysterious alarm sounds and then it says on its screen: “Please contact technical support in Singapore.” Then you will realize that even iron has a mood, and that artificial intelligence sometimes needs a cup of coffee to start its day just like us.
People talk with fear that a robot will take a human’s job, but what is not said is that a human will take the job of “robot repair.” In the future, we will need technicians who specialize in calming down electronic malfunctions instead of calming angry colleagues. Perhaps one day we will see a training course entitled “How to deal with a sensitive robot that refuses commands at lunchtime.”
Despite all this, it cannot be denied that these technologies will change the face of life and work. Robots in factories reduce errors, in hospitals they help surgeons with unfaltering consistency, and in ports they lift containers with precision and speed that surpasses humans. Technology is not the enemy, but it is a mirror of what we really need in terms of balance between comfort and responsibility.
Although the robot can work tirelessly, it does not know how to deal with unexpected situations. He can’t devise a solution when a cup of coffee falls on the control panel, or calm an angry manager with a kind word. He treats orders like equations, while a person reads the situation with his emotion, experience, and intuition.
Imagine if the receptionist was replaced by a sleek robot that welcomed visitors with a metallic voice saying, “Welcome, please wait.” After just one minute of power outage, the robot goes silent and coolly turns off, while the former employee remains at her desk, continuing to greet her with a smile even in the heat. Here is the difference between someone who has an algorithm and someone who has a soul.
There may come a day when we find a robot serving coffee, another writing articles, and a third answering our calls at the service offices, but amidst all this artificial intelligence there will remain something that cannot be programmed, which is the sincere laugh after tiredness, or the word “good morning” said in a warm Bahraini dialect that resembles a cup of tea after the rain.
The robot can clean the office, but it does not know how to share a cup of tea with you or hear your complaints about crowding. He masters the tasks, but he does not know the “soul.” Perhaps for this reason, no matter how advanced technology is, the human being will remain the most beautiful part of the equation, because he is the only one who can work… and behave.
* Technical expert
