Human Workers Are Replaced By Robots During The COVID-19 Pandemic

JAKARTA - The corona virus or COVID-19 pandemic situation has encouraged various goods and service delivery companies, as well as food and restaurant providers to keep opening their businesses. In order to meet the needs of society in this dangerous time, human jobs are now being replaced by robots.

Analysts quoted by the BBC on Sunday, April 19 revealed that sooner or later it was claimed robots would replace human jobs in the midst of the COVID-19 situation which has become a global pandemic.

"People usually say they want a human element in their interactions but COVID-19 has changed that. (COVID-19) will change consumer preferences and actually open up new opportunities for automation," said futurist Martin Ford who has written. about how robots will be integrated into the economy in the coming decades.

Today, several business sectors have used robots to comply with government regulations on social distancing and reduce the number of employees. It is certain that robots will be used to perform roles that cannot be done by workers.

Walmart, the largest retail store in the United States (US) and Amazon, uses robots for floor mopping, sorting, shipping, and packaging of goods. In South Korea, robots have been used to measure body temperature and distribute hand sanitizers.

Health experts also warn that some social distancing measures may need to be in place until 2021, hence the use of robots may be in greater demand in the future.

Not only Walmart, several business sectors engaged in the culinary sector have also used robots for take away systems. Experts say as more businesses reopen, some hope to see further adoption of this technology.

"Customers are now more concerned about their safety and the safety, health of workers. Moving towards automation can make them healthier and customers will appreciate companies that do this," said author of The Customer of the Future, Blake Morgan.

Food service is another area where the use of robots is likely to increase due to health concerns. Fast food chains like McDonald's have tested robots as chefs and cashiers.

However, according to technology experts, this will make some of the employees lose their jobs. Once a company invests in replacing workers with robots, there is no way it will reuse human workers.

While robotic technology is more expensive to build and integrate into businesses, once they are operational, robots are usually cheaper than human workers. Moreover, during physical distancing, people will choose to go to a place where a robot is used to serve them without worrying about being exposed to the virus.

In fact, the use of robotic technology has long been used for large technology companies and social networks. Like Google and Facebook, which use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to delete inappropriate posts and accounts because the company's human content moderators cannot review certain things while working from home.