All images, courtesy of Amazon.

2023 has been a wild year in the tech world. E3’s organizers have decided to shut their doors, or they didn’t. The Class of 2023 is graduating with ChatGPT who’s also preaching the gospel. And Amazon is ushering in a new future where people and robots will work alongside each other in factories.

AI Propels a New Robotic Era

Robots have been used in automotive manufacturing for decades. The auto industry was once the exclusive users of robotic help in vehicle assembly and parts fabrication. Automotive robots are complex machines used for automating assembly line tasks or by humans to manually perform precision tasks.

Amazon is demonstrating a new breed of robots simplistic in design, and sophisticated in operation.

Amazon’s latest robots came in an acquisition from robotics company, Kiva. The robot, Proteus, remembers a large, square tabletop on wheels. It sits low to the ground and is designed to roll under caged cubbies containing products.

Proteus maneuvers itself under the cubbies, lifts the cubby off its casters, and moves the cubby to the warehouse location it’s supposed to be.

Proteus runs on its own. It avoids people, maneuvers around factor floor obstacles, and will smile if it’s done a good job.

Augmenting Human Capacity

Amazon has faced criticism for how hard it drives their human workforce at its fulfillment centers. Amazon fulfillment workers have filed complaints, walked out, and organized for better working conditions and hours.

With the arrival of new warehouse workers like Proteus and Hercules pictured below, human workers will be facing competition from their AI-powered mechanical co-workers. But, the reality is more nuanced.

Amazon’s robots are built by people. As long as Amazon is successful, it’ll more fulfillment centers, and more robots working at fulfillment centers. Which means more people building robots.

The future is going to be nuanced. Every technological revolution has brought profound change. Technology has caused many jobs to disappear. Technology has also created new jobs; and more importantly, new opportunities for society.

With an increased focus on AI, I’m hoping our governments can get things right this time.