If you’re in a job performing dull tasks, you might think that a robot could do the work instead. But perhaps we underestimate(低估)how much technology already helps with the activities that we would otherwise have to do. And as artificial intelligence progresses, we might find it replaces us in the workplace altogether.
For now, robotic technology is providing a helping hand for businesses, particularly in manufacturing(制造业), assisting humans in performing work more efficiently and sometimes more accurately. For online shopping, for example, robots have become vital in giant warehouses. They sort and move millions of objects of all different shapes and sizes, although humans are still needed to pick and distribute the goods.
The advancement of robotics in the workplace is good for some businesses; the ones who research, develop, build and use them. The British government estimates that by 2035, artificial intelligence could add around £ 630bn to the UK economy. But there are still tasks that robots can’t yet do, and that’s the challenge for companies such as Automata. Its co-founder, Suryansh Chandra, told the BBC that his technology will do its best to eliminate boring, repetitive jobs that humans don’t like and aren’t very good at, and also create new ones that are likely to replace them.
It seems certain that robots will eventually be able to do more and more of the jobs that are currently performed by humans, so should we be worried by the rise of the machines? Some experts fear hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear as robots replace human workers. A recent report suggests that 14 percent of jobs are “at high risk of automation” and 32 percent of jobs could be “basically transformed”, with the manufacturing sector at the highest risk.
But as complete automation is some way off, for now we’ll have to work side-by-side with our robot colleagues — and manage to go hand in hand with them before they learn to kick us out of the door!
【小题1】The second paragraph is mainly written to .| A．show how robots can help humans | B．name industries suitable for robots |
| C．explain why robots can replace humans | D．explore potential profits that robots can make |
| A．Remove. | B．Secure. | C．Rediscover. | D．Create. |
| A．Possible risks for manufacturing sector. |
| B．Remarks on the future of the rising industry. |
| C．Predictions about the tendency of technology. |
| D．Worries about the future job trend due to machines. |
| A．Watch out for robots. | B．Get along with robots. |
| C．Mind our own business. | D．Learn to kick robots out. |
