Amazon is using humanoid robots in its US warehouses as part of its latest trial to automate more of its operations.
The company said it was testing a new robot called Digit in one of its warehouses near Seattle.
Digit has arms and legs and can move and handle items in a similar way to a person and can carry up to 35 kilograms.
The robot can take over some of the carrying and collecting, meaning humans will not have to lift as much - but this launch of Digit comes as fears rise that artificial intelligence and robotic automation could replace millions of jobs in offices and factories.
We spoke to people in Manchester to find out what they think about this trial and whether the progress of AI is something they are concerned about.
The company said it was testing a new robot called Digit in one of its warehouses near Seattle.
Digit has arms and legs and can move and handle items in a similar way to a person and can carry up to 35 kilograms.
The robot can take over some of the carrying and collecting, meaning humans will not have to lift as much - but this launch of Digit comes as fears rise that artificial intelligence and robotic automation could replace millions of jobs in offices and factories.
We spoke to people in Manchester to find out what they think about this trial and whether the progress of AI is something they are concerned about.
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00:00 Amazon is using humanoid robots in its US warehouses as part of its latest trial to
00:05 automate more of its operations.
00:08 The company said it was testing a new robot called Digit in one of its warehouses near
00:13 Seattle.
00:14 Digit has arms and legs and can move and handle items in a similar way to a person and can
00:19 carry up to 35 kilograms.
00:22 The robot can take over some of the carrying and collecting, meaning humans will not have
00:27 to lift as much, but this launch of Digit comes as fears rise that artificial intelligence
00:32 and robotic automation could replace millions of jobs in offices and factories.
00:38 We spoke to people in Manchester to find out what they think about this trial and whether
00:42 the progress of AI is something they're concerned about.
00:46 "It's called progress.
00:48 Years and years ago you'd have hundreds and hundreds of people doing a job, which two
00:53 or three people do now.
00:56 You get used to it.
00:57 I was at a seminar in Brussels and we were told that I think 90% of the jobs that kids
01:03 born today will be doing haven't been invented yet.
01:06 So yeah, it's a good thing.
01:07 It is a good thing.
01:08 If robots do come in, they're going to have to have people to look after the robots, to
01:13 maintain the robots, etc.
01:15 But these things you can't stop because it's just called progress."
01:17 "Well, I think it would be a shame for people losing their jobs and all this kind of thing.
01:22 But like Paul said, it's progress."
01:24 "Well, I've seen, for example, some of these apps.
01:27 There's a poetry app.
01:30 Just type in a subject, any one of the most banal subjects you can, and it'll write a
01:33 beautiful poem.
01:34 That is amazing.
01:35 It really is.
01:36 Again, I don't know a lot about AI.
01:39 Younger people probably know a lot more than myself.
01:41 At the end of the day, it's going to be affecting younger people more than people like me and
01:46 Ray.
01:47 It is the future."
01:48 "I don't think you can stop progress.
01:49 It's going to happen at some point.
01:51 It's probably a good thing in a way because it frees up people to do other jobs."
01:58 "Well, I have to admit that that's not my kind of being in life.
02:02 I think people need people.
02:05 And of course, also when you go shopping, you need an assistant who can guide you.
02:11 So I think the thought is wrong.
02:14 You have to think and look at people, what they need and not what robots can do.
02:19 So I hope it will go away.
02:23 Another way is it could be okay, but I think you have to be thoughtful about it."
02:28 "How is somebody who would work in a warehouse or factory going to find an income and live
02:32 and look after their families?
02:33 If a machine can do it, why are they paying a human to do it?
02:37 And the knock on effect of that is going to be horrific.
02:39 Potential millions of redundancies across the world when it becomes mainstream anyway."
02:44 "No, it doesn't scare me because let's be honest, people would have said that 20 years
02:48 ago about the smartphone or any of the other sort of tech we use today.
02:52 The biggest impact I think is literally unemployment."
02:55 "If it advances things, yeah great, but at the same time, Amazon probably need to pay
02:59 their workers better, give them some better rights and whatnot.
03:02 So I may be focusing on that before getting computers involved."