My COVIDiary #3: The Post-Pandemic World Where Robots are Our Friends

I predict the world will be forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How we eat, work, and wash our hands will never be the same. Last month, I came up with 10 ways in which COVID-19 will alter the business world and our lives. Check them out at PREDICTIONS.

Each week I’ll be tackling one of these future-forward realities.

The robots ARE coming…faster than ever.

I’ve been writing about AI and robotics for several years now. But the pandemic has accelerated the rate at which this change is coming and many industries have begun to focus on how automation can connect us, teach us, and keep us healthier.

For example:

1. These robots from Softbank are being used to sanitize the workplace and common areas. Getting into corners that Rosie the Maid  (see below) and the Roomba never could touch, autonomous cleaning machines are being used for a variety of purposes.
2. Diagnosing COVID-19 is also an area where robots are assisting human medical professionals.

   “Robots have the potential to be deployed for disinfection, delivering medications and food, measuring vital signs, and assisting border controls. As epidemics escalate, the potential roles of robotics are becoming increasingly clear.” – WIRED
3. Food preparation and service are functions where a no-touch rule is prudent and robot-assisted cooking, bartending, and delivery will become realities over the next decade. We’ve all seen self-ordering food kiosks and apps, but we ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Automation will also ultimately drive staffing costs down and tomorrow’s food/beverage workers will need to be tech-savvy to survive and thrive.
4. Education is now reliant on home-schooling and we’ll be seeing more creative ways to apply AI, machine learning, and robotics to the virtual classroom.  Here are just a few of the ways that education systems today are being automated. Want to teach your kids (and yourself) how to code while you’re quarantined? Here’s a fun way to do it.
5. AI and machine learning in marketing enable CMOs and small businesses to assess how to spend, who to target, how to sell, and even which creative and messaging approaches to use. Join me at MAICON to learn more and how you can help AI-proof your career.
6. “A robot took my job!” You never want to say that, although the reality is that past economic recessions have led to huge upswings in automation, as industries look for ways to streamline operations and drive costs down. You can keep yourself employable and relevant by “embracing the machine” now and looking for ways in which technology may change or eliminate your role and start to upskill NOW.

https://youtu.be/hnoEpUrucwE