Speaking on whether or not robots will eventually replace human labor, the answer is pretty straightforward, and that is no. There are many scopes and angles to examine and analyze this very issue. One particular angle that we can look at is whether or not the rise of machinery actually harms the labor workforce, and history provides us with a pretty clear picture of that. A well-documented example proving this was a fundamental change or development per se in the textile industry before and after the first industrial revolution. According to a Michigan State University editorial blogger Ali Farago, textiles were mainly made by hand through manual labor before the first industrial revolution. That means the cotton will need to be handpicked by human laborers and delivered to the cottages for further cottage worker processing before it can be supplied to the market (Farago The textile industry during the Industrial Revolution).

However, after the first industrial revolution, a new piece of machinery was developed to replace human weaving, which is the loom machine. History Crunch, a history-educating platform, took a deep dive into the past at the effects of the first industrial revolution on the textile industry; they stated that the development of the loom machine significantly improved the efficiency of making textiles. They further suggested that this monumental invention greatly contributed to freeing up the tied-up laborers from the old repetitive and inefficient ways of production (History Crunch Writers Textile Manufacturing in the Industrial Revolution). Moreover, those manual laborers who left this industry eventually acquired other skills needed to work in a different economic sector, further fueling the middle-class boom during that same period of time.

If we were to examine this particular example, it is solid proof that the rise of machinery not only didn’t affect the labor workforce but also benefited our economic growth. Now you may be thinking, how does this relate to our robotic topic? It does in many ways because robots are essentially the twenty-first century of “loom machine.” It may take some jobs away from people, but it is ultimately up to the people to adapt and learn the new generations of skills to catch up and fill those new job vacancies created by the rise of automation. Robots, after all, are still robots; they will never replace human intelligence. They will still need to be maintained and properly operated by humans.

Thus, it is entirely up to us to learn new skills to develop and manage these new technologies. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has once said this during one of his product demonstrations, “…general purpose, bi-pedal, humanoid robot capable of performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring.” (Donovan Elon Musk’s new Tesla robot is freaking everybody out) By that, he suggested that robots are only supposed to make our work easier, safer, and in the process, help us eliminate repetitive and boring jobs.

Works Cited

Farago, Alli. “The Textile Industry during the Industrial Revolution.” GlobalEDGE Blog: The Textile Industry During the Industrial Revolution >> GlobalEDGE: Your Source for Global Business Knowledge, 18 Oct. 2017, https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/54483/the-textile-industry-during-the-industrial-revolution.

History Crunch Writers. “Textile Manufacturing in the Industrial Revolution.” History Crunch – History Articles, Summaries, Biographies, Resources and More, 22 Jan. 2016, https://www.historycrunch.com/textile-manufacturing-in-the-industrial-revolution.html#/.

Donovan, Imogen. “Elon Musk’s New Tesla Robot Is Freaking Everybody Out.” Technology, GAMINGbible, 23 Aug. 2021, https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/news/games-technology-elon-musks-new-tesla-robot-is-freaking-everybody-out-20210823.