“There’s no way this wouldn’t explode as a category,” said Matt Beane, an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara who studies human-robot collaboration in the workplace. Beane says that as industrial machines become more capable and more connected, the number and variety of these jobs will increase.
Beane says new forms of remote physical work could involve monitoring multiple automated machines, similar to how one person monitors several AIs. chatbots at the same time. Chatbots can handle many common questions, but will lose the topic when the conversation gets off-topic or becomes complicated and annoying for the user.
This approach can help companies find new workers and create more efficient processes, but it can be less positive for workers. Some remote work is taken up by lower-paid workers abroad. And some companies see remote human labor as a temporary way to train AI algorithm which will eventually replace them.
Currently, humans are essential because of the limits of AI and automation. AI has made impressive leaps and bounds over the past decade thanks to cheaper, more capable hardware and advances in technology. machine learning, which allows the computer to learn from examples. But the messy physical world often messes with algorithms. For example, robotic arms struggle to pick up and manipulate objects they have never seen before, and self-driving car cannot make sense of scenes that are different from those in their training data.
Some companies see remote human help as a backstop. This week Ocado, a UK-based technology and retail company, has unveiled new robots capable of picking items from crates more efficiently. Ocado is one of several companies using machine learning to train robots to grasp objects from crates. The AI can get stuck, because the items are always changing, making it hard to know how to get one out of the pile. So human operators help show robots how to get when they’re stuck. James Matthews, CEO of Ocado’s technology division, said at an event on Wednesday that the company has a team of robot pilots in Mexico and the Philippines who can suggest from a distance the best way. to capture new products. Lessons help algorithms improve, perhaps to the point where humans may not be needed.
ArcBest, using technology from Phantom Auto, has developed AI software that allows their forklifts to perform certain operations on their own, such as driving from one point to another. However, people are still needed for more complex jobs like loading and unloading trucks or palletizing.
Phantom Auto has sold its remote driving technology to growing companies self-driving car and delivery robot. These cars can handle many road situations on their own, but struggling with unusual situations, bad weather conditions or equipment anomalies, need someone to step in and help.
Another company that is hiring remote workers for traditional jobs is Einride, a Swedish manufacturer of self-driving trucks. Currently, Einride’s remote control only works in limited situations, such as moving goods around a large General Motors plant in Michigan. But CEO Robert Falck says there’s no reason drivers can’t drive trucks on real roads. “Obviously you need to combine remote control with automated operation to create a robust and reliable transport setup,” says Falck.
The range of remote work offered on job boards seems to be growing, especially in areas where AI is being applied. Some companies that use drones to inspect or scan work sites or farmland also rely on a combination of autonomy and remote operation.
