Robots have body parts, just like we humans do. Arms, shoulders, legs and wrists all work in tandem to do actions that a human used to be paid to do, thus saving wear and tear on countless humans over the last century and a half or so. Each generation deals with the displacement of work by robots in a different way. The newest generations happen to be the most acceptable to utilizing machinery to do what used to be manual labor. Older generations, however, have qualms about giving over control to robots.

Textiles and manufacturing have long been shifted to a mostly automated workforce. Most people realize this as a change of the times. Take the robot outside the realm of the factories, and you come up with a different answer. In the spirit of science I have asked a few anonymous people what they thought of certain automated technologies and how they would respond.

“Would you drive a google car?” was the first query I raised.

“I would stop driving all together”, replied one respondent. His vision of a robot filled highway sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. I asked why and he said that although he may still be free to drive manually as he wished he would not be able to stand robot created traffic jams, fender benders, or the inability to deal with road rage.

“They can’t take away my keys. I’m the best driver I know. No machine can keep me safer”, one woman replied. Her fear of losing her percieved notion of control is one of the main factors hindering the acceptance of machine-driven vehicles.

My next question posed was, ”Would you eat at a fast food restaurant staffed with mostly robotic employees?”

One sprightly old lady responded with, “No. There’s no telling if one of those hydraulic pistons burst while my food was being prepared. If human eyes aren’t watching, I won’t eat it.”

These all seem like valid points to the average person, only because the average person is very hesitant to like change. Fear of the unknown is battled with excuses and myths. This is why it is so important for both the corporations funding the robotic revolutions and the consumers to make sure they are informed about the latest technologies. In learning the new ways robots can be safely utilized, people will drop their irrational fears and be in a comfortable spot to usher in the newest industrial age.

I, for one, can’t wait to be driven to my nearest McRobots in my shiny new automatic driving car.