5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Robots | An Overview on Pros and Cons of Robots

What are Robots | A short detail of Robots

Generally, a Robot refers to a machine that helps humans get their work done with ease. In today’s World Robots helps us ranging from commercial to residential work. The global Robotics Market was valued at USD 39.54 Billion in 2023 and is estimated to boost up to USD 134.64 Billion by 2031.

The word Robot was concluded from the Czech word Robota. The word robota was first used by Czech writer Karel Capek in his play R.U.R. in 1920. Over the passing years, many advancements have been made to increase the reliability and productivity of robots. But still, there are some cons of using robots. Putting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in robots has been found very beneficial. But there are many Pros and Cons of using Artificial Intelligence. The use of robots in industries has rapidly increased over the past years.

Below I am going to tell you some use cases of using robots in various industries.

1. Robots are used in manufacturing industries.
2. Robots are used to work in dangerous places and conditions.
3. Many businesses are using AI-powered robots to assist their customers.

In this article, you are going to read the pros and cons of robots.

Advantages of Robots

Robots offer significant advantages and here I am going to tell 5 most significant benefits of robots.

1. Increased Efficiency and Productivity

Humans deal with great problems while working like getting bored at work and an increased workload may lead to fatigue and different issues. But still, the efficiency of humans is not comparable with robots. Thanks to Robots, they do not have to face these problems (they don’t have to sleep, they don’t need breaks, they don’t get bored). Unlike humans, robots don’t have to face health problems and can work continuously. Robots can increase the Efficiency of work with their speed. Most of the robots work super fast without any error. This also increases the Productivity of work.

Example: In logistics, robots can Automate the business by packing the goods, transporting them, and managing them.

2. Working in Dangerous Conditions

We can use the robots to work in dangerous conditions to ensure the safety of human lives. We can train AI-powered Robots to do jobs that typically put human lives at risk. For Instance, let’s think about a mining job (sound dangerous, Right? ). A mine can collapse anytime, people can die because of low oxygen index, and many other problems. Robots can decrease this risk by doing similar dangerous tasks.

 Another example is the Chernobyl Nuclear Incident, one of the worst nuclear disasters. Approximately 100 persons died in this accident. We can reduce the number of risks to human lives by putting robots in these dangerous works.

Example: We can use robots to work in Radioactive and Nuclear sites.

3. Cost Reduction

Another significant reason Why business owners use robots in their businesses. Robots are experts in Automation. Robots can automate businesses by doing routine tasks like manufacturing and transporting. Many business owners are using advanced high-tech robots in their manufacturing plants. This decreases the cost spent on manufacturing can be used on other important aspects of business like advertising.

There are many best AI writers in the market. We can use these AI writers to automate our routine writing tasks and can save the money spent on human writers.

Example: In hospitals we can use robots to clean, transport products, and manufacture medicines. We can also use some advanced robots to perform complex surgical operations.

4. Available 24/7

Humans cannot work 24/7. They need breaks, sleep, food, and enjoyment. But fortunately, robots can do chores with high efficiency and for longer periods of time. We can use the robots to work until they wear out.

For example, In a car manufacturing company. Robots work continuously 24/7 without needing any kind of break. They assemble car parts faster than humans.

Example: In JAPAN and many other advanced countries, some restaurant owners use robots to assist their customers. Robots can take orders from customers and can bring the food to their table.

5. Minimizing Error

Humans are very well known for making errors. The word error has been created since the creation of humans. Robots certainly minimize the amount of errors made by humans or make no errors. Minimizing errors in work leads to better quality, efficiency, and accuracy. Robots do not deal with problems like fatigue, or getting bored at work which leads to errors.

Example: Many banks use AI-powered robots to manage transactions and use Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for entering data. These types of robotic programs are used to minimize errors.

Disadvantages of Robots

Now let’s talk about some demerits of using Robots.

1. High Risk of Unemployment

Unemployment is a great fear in humans when it comes to automation with robots. There is a potential risk of robots getting over in every field with the development of robots. This concept started getting attention when HOLLYWOOD started making movies/serials on topics like “Robots taking over the World”.

People who are entering new fields or low-skilled workers may struggle to find jobs in the upcoming years. A high rate of unemployment can lead to economic inequality, more poverty, and unstabilized distribution of wealth. We should prepare ourselves for the upcoming future and the government should take actions in this regard.

Example: Already many people have started losing their jobs in logistics due to more integration of robots in work.

2. Emotional Considerations

Robots do not have emotions but with the integration of Artificial Intelligence programs can do something. Even with the most advanced AI and ML (Machine Learning) programs, robots cannot still adapt to human emotions. That’s why robots do not develop a spirit of team as humans. Robots designed to mimic emotional responses can create a false sense of companionship.

Example: Think of a customer support service of a hospital. Robots because of their inability cannot provide emotional support to customers.

3. Power Consumption and Maintenance

Robots can provide efficiency with less cost while Power Consumption and Maintenance is a major concern. We can use robots until they wear out but if we want longer life then we have to do maintenance of robots on regular basis. Maintenance of robots and power consumption can be sometimes very expensive.

Example: The robots powered up by batteries can be disruptive. We have to charge or change the batteries once they are discharged.

4. Creativity Lack

Robots despite their many advantages, lack creativity while doing work. Robots work on Pre-defined information and are not suitable for doing tasks that typically need human thinking and creativity.  Creativity often refers to generating new ideas, innovations, and thinking out of the box. Meanwhile, we can overcome this problem to a certain limit with the integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Robots. Certainly, there are many benefits of Artificial Intelligence.

Because of this inability of robots, they can suffer in jobs like Emergency, Customer service, styling, design. Robots who are designed to work on Pre-defined information can struggle in these scenarios. This can lead to several new issues.

Example: Robots may not be beneficial in education. Education is a name of learning and robots can suffer to provide new information.

5. Cybersecurity and Technical Risks

Finally, after you overcome all the problems, there is a major risk of cybersecurity. Hackers can hack into your robot’s software, taking control over your robot, disrupting their functions, or malfunctioning them. Hackers can also use your robots to get access to sensitive data, leading to privacy breaches.

Using robots without proper maintenance can lead to technical problems. Robots can stop functioning or may start producing errors.

Example: In 2017, IOActive found that 80,000 routers used to control Robots were exposed to hackers.

Future of Robots

Robots are replacing human jobs and will continue to do so. Finding jobs in the future will be very competitive as robots can do human jobs with high efficiency and less cost. Some sources claim that 30% of jobs will be automated by 2030. We must prepare for the future by learning different technical skills and upgrading them with time. Overall, the future of robots will bring both ease and difficulties. But, using robots in our daily lives will enhance the productivity and efficiency of our work and improve the quality of our lives.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

What is the purpose of robots?

Robots are simply machines designed to help us in our daily lives. Robots can do tasks like transporting, manufacturing, and working in dangerous places.

Are robots good or bad for society?

Robots can impact society both positively and negatively. Robots can increase automation, efficiency, and precision. On the other hand, there is also a concern of increased unemployment.

What is the full form of robot?

The word “robot” does not have a full form. The word Robot was concluded from the Czech word Robota. The word robota was first used by Czechwriter Karel Capek in his play R.U.R. in 1920.