Robots will do 39% of housework by 2033
The assessment of experts
Researchers from the UK and Japan asked 65 artificial intelligence experts to predict how automated household chores could become over the next decade. Experts estimate that by 2033, 39% of all household work will be performed by robots.
The biggest changes in automation are expected in shopping, while caring for children or the elderly will also be significantly affected by AI. Already robots like vacuum cleaners have become one of the most common and best-selling robotic home items worldwide.
It is estimated that the time we spend shopping for the home will be reduced by 60%.
In 1966 the TV show Tomorrow’s World showed a robot housewife who could cook, walk the dog, babysit, do the shopping, make cocktails and more. If their creators had $1 million, the device could have been operational since 1976.
The promise of autonomous vehicles hitting the roads, replacing taxis, has been around for decades. And yet, we haven’t been able to get robots to work properly or get autonomous vehicles to drive in an unpredictable environment on our roads. Our homes are similar in this sense.
Scientists believe that technology will help people, not replace them.
It is difficult and expensive to create a general purpose robot. It is easier and more useful to create technology that helps us and does not replace us.
The research considers that home automation will save us valuable time and money. If we think of housework as unpaid work, the time we spend on it has a negative impact on our income, our savings and our pensions. Researchers also believe that home automation will result in greater gender equality.
However, if this technology remains expensive, it will be available to a small percentage of society, leading to an increase in inequality in leisure time.
The research was published in PLOS ONE .
