For most viewers outside of New England, this year’s Super Bowl was a disappointment. The game was a grind, the halftime show was lackluster and even the always anticipated commercials seemed stale. But one recurring theme of this year’s commercials did stand out to viewers: technology is scary.
Yes, robots and artificial intelligence popped up time and time again during the telecast, as brands like Pringles, Michelob, Sprint, TurboTax and even Amazon took time to reassure audiences that while technology may be progressing at a rapid rate, being a human is still better. We can taste chips and drink beer. We have feelings and autonomy. We can laugh in the face of our android counterparts.
It may seem silly, but such reminders will become increasingly important in the years to come. As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated and automation normalizes, fundamental questions about the differences between man and machine, once confined to sci-fi novels, are likely to be a significant issue. Keeping what distinguishes humans in focus will hopefully offset such existential concerns.
For now, however, robots’ most immediate threat to our humanity is represented in the workforce. And corporate attempts to assuage fears about the speed of technological progress must not distract from the fact that many companies are looking forward to the coming tide of automation.
Amazon, for example, which ran an ad humorously highlighting the current limitations of its AI technology, has been pushing to replace its warehouse workers with robots. And Amazon is merely leading the charge. A 2017 report by the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that as many as 800 million jobs worldwide could be lost to automation by 2030. The report estimates that between 39 million and 73 million jobs stand to be automated in the U.S. alone. That’s about a third of the country’s total workforce.
Moving forward, a firm grasp of what makes us human is going to be more important than ever. At the forefront of that should be work. Dignified work is integral to millions of Americans. But handing more and more of that work off to fleets of robots is a surefire way to accelerate discontent. Our corporations must do more to support human workers and our politicians should encourage them to do so. Unfortunately, Super Bowl ads maligning robots just won’t be enough.
First Published: February 6, 2019, 12:00 p.m.
