Weekly Review No. 10 | Will a robot take my job?
- Rebecca D'Souza
- Apr 2, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 3, 2021
The Age of A.I.
One of an 8-part documentary delving into the possibilities of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks.
Will a robot take my job? | The Age of A.I. (YouTube Originals, 2020)
Review
This documentary is a YouTube Originals, hosted by Robert Downey Jr. which I would recommend anyone to take the time to watch. Starting with the trucking industry, the pushing demands of e-commerce, to pizza making, it’s about artificial intelligence and automation. You may already know that there’s a lot of research, development, and innovation revolving around AI. Russia and China for one are active contributors. It’s also pretty astonishing to think that AI has been around since the early 1950s.
Now, what this series is trying to make us understand is that AI affects our daily lives. From shipping goods worldwide to the automation of traffic lights controlling and ensuring driver and pedestrian safety. AI’s got us covered. But, there are a lot of speculations about progress in this field changing how the labour and workforce looks like.
Jobs and occupations will evolve. Which raises the question “Will AI sustain a supply of jobs and improve working conditions?” Decades from now, when seeing the advanced pockets of the world largely using integrated AI systems, we’ll know the answer.
In relation to jobs, the world is increasingly technological. We will fall back if we can’t keep up. A strong point underlying this documentary, is that if we don’t think forward we may be left behind in the future. Making “How can I improve my skill-sets?” or “How can I improve my employability?” nothing near futile questions.
I was particularly intrigued by the first docuseries – How Far Is Too Far? Where we see Mark Sagar working with Will.i.am to produce a digital avatar of the rapper. I was quite taken aback by how emotive the life-like simulation of Sagar’s own toddler daughter was. Just the fact that she can respond to stimuli, like frightening her, or the redness of her cheeks.
It reminds me of the futuristic, sci-fi action of RoboCop. And admiring just how human-like Andrew (played by Robin Williams) was in Bicentennial Man (1999). That said, as AI progressively solves critical problems we’ll live in a world with increasingly robotic and human elements.
Here’s How Far Is Too Far? It really is worth a watch.
Still: Bicentennial Man (1999). Andrew sitting with Amanda, playing the piano. | (BBC, n.d.)
Still from RoboCop. | (Pictures, 2019)
Video
YouTube Originals. (2020, January 15). Will a robot take my job? | The Age of A.I. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2aocKWrPG8&list=PLjq6DwYksrzz_fsWIpPcf6V7p2RNAneKc&index=8
Image Sources
BBC. (n.d.). Bicentennial Man. Retrieved from BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007c14w
Pictures, O. (2019, May 13). WTF MOMENTS: ROBOCOP 2'S SUICIDAL ROBOTS PULLING THEIR BRAINS OUT. Retrieved from Syfy Wire: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/wtf-moments-robocop-2s-suicidal-robots-pulling-their-brains-out
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