Amazon Reveals a Glimpse of Future Human Roles in an AI-Driven Workplace

The tech world appears to have two main views on where human workers fit in an AI-dominated future: one assumes that nearly all jobs—aside from their own—will be handled by bots. (Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, for example, seems confident his role as an investor is beyond automation.)

The other view suggests that AI will take over the repetitive and undesirable tasks, assisting humans in existing roles while also paving the way for entirely new kinds of work. This second perspective aligns more closely with historical trends. According to the World Economic Forum, while 92 million jobs may be displaced by emerging technologies, around 170 million new ones are expected to be created.

The Uncertain Future of Low-Skilled Workers in an AI-Driven World

But for those without the financial means or desire to pursue advanced degrees in AI—particularly individuals currently working in lower-skilled positions like warehouse jobs—what kind of future awaits them in a world increasingly populated by bots?

On Wednesday, Amazon offered a glimpse into one possible future for human workers by unveiling its new Vulcan robot, designed to eventually take over many warehouse tasks. The company highlighted Vulcan’s ability to “feel,” marking a significant step toward automating roles traditionally held by humans.

“Vulcan is helping make work safer by handling ergonomically challenging tasks, while creating opportunities for our teammates to grow their skills in robotics maintenance,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote on X.

In a blog post, Amazon explained that Vulcan will assist—not replace—humans by retrieving items from hard-to-reach areas, such as the highest and lowest shelves, reducing the need for workers to climb or bend constantly. Meanwhile, human workers will focus on picking items from the middle shelves or handling objects Vulcan still can’t manage.

At the same time, Amazon noted that it’s training a select group of warehouse employees to become robot technicians, as the company increasingly shifts the picking workload to Vulcan.

Amazon’s Robotics Push Spurs New Job Roles and Retraining Opportunities

“These robots — now involved in fulfilling 75% of customer orders — have led to the creation of hundreds of new job types at Amazon, such as robotic floor monitors and onsite maintenance engineers,” the company noted in its blog post, adding that it offers retraining opportunities for workers to learn robotic maintenance skills.

While Amazon didn’t explicitly state it, this isn’t a one-for-one trade-off. It doesn’t take nearly as many people to supervise or maintain robots as it does to physically fulfill orders. Plus, not everyone will want—or be able—to become a robot technician.

Still, Amazon’s decision to highlight its retraining initiative alongside the Vulcan announcement is telling.

What Happens to the Working Class When Bots Do It All?

That’s because there’s been little clarity about what the world looks like for working-class individuals after AI and robots take over many tasks. (One AI startup founder even suggested to TechCrunch that in a future where bots handle all work, people might just rely on government welfare.)

But maybe, instead of grocery clerks, we’ll have “automation attendants,” similar to the lone worker now overseeing rows of self-checkout machines. Fast food cooks might be replaced by people supervising kitchen bots. Knowing how to manage or interact with robots could become as essential to employment as basic computer literacy is today.

Then again, this fully automated future might never come to pass. Robots could remain tools used mostly by massive corporations — like Amazon or in car manufacturing — while most retail, food service, and transport jobs continue to be done by people for many more years.

Remember, Amazon once tried to sell its “Just Walk Out” cashier-less technology to other retailers. But due to its status as a retail competitor, many weren’t interested. That system also turned out to rely on human labor in India to review surveillance footage, and Amazon itself has since scaled it back. The tech has yet to gain widespread adoption.

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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