Super Bowl Ads Paint Future of AI and Robots, but Human Jobs Remain Complex
Sunday's Super Bowl ads showcased the latest in artificial intelligence and robotics. While these technologies promise much, they also raise questions about the future of work and human jobs.
TurboTax's ad depicted a robot child dreaming of becoming a TurboTax CPA, only to be told by a woman that human jobs are complex and emotional. Michelob Ultra narrated a similar tale of an athletic robot unable to enjoy a drink, highlighting the limitations of current robots.
Pew Research Center found in 2014 that 48% of tech experts believed robots and digital agents would displace many workers and increase income inequality. However, the reality is more nuanced. While lower-wage, routine jobs like truck drivers and payroll clerks face higher automation risk, only 5% of jobs could be entirely automated. SimpliSafe's ad suggested a future where robots replace human jobs, but experts disagree on the extent and timeline of this shift.
Vishal Sikka predicts artificial general intelligence (AGI) could be realized within the next four decades. Yet, no robots have achieved AGI or superhuman intelligence, and experts debate when or if they will. Pringles' ad featuring an Alexa-like speaker demonstrated the limitations of digital assistants in physical tasks.
While Super Bowl ads painted a future filled with AI and robots, the reality is more complex. Automation may displace some jobs, but it also creates new ones. From 1980 to 2016, the U.S. saw a net gain of 54 million jobs. However, the emotional complexity of human jobs remains a barrier for robots, as shown in TurboTax's ad. The future of work is uncertain, but one thing is clear: human jobs are not going away anytime soon.
