Modern AI-powered robots are impressive in their capabilities, but they are still years away from replacing humans because they cannot yet adapt to changing conditions, researchers say.
Last month, AI robotics company Figures unveiled its humanoid robots that perform basic tasks, such such as cleaning a room, but a series of robots working for nine days non-stop sorting packages has sparked talk of how robots could soon replace jobs.
Oliver Obst, an associate professor of robotics at Australia-based University of New South Wales, told Cointelegraph that repetitive jobs, such as physical work in structured environments, are currently at the highest risk of being replaced by robots, while administrative and document processing tasks could be replaced by artificial intelligence.
There is growing concern that artificial intelligence and robots will replace humans in the workplace as technology advances. A May report from workforce consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found that US companies will lay off an estimated 49,135 people in 2026 due to artificial intelligence.
A group of Figure robots worked continuously for nine days sorting packages. Source: Character
However, Obst said that humanoid robots are unlikely to see mass introduction anytime soon because they do not appear to be more efficient or less error-prone than current robotic manufacturing methods.
“Even in relatively structured settings, they still face issues of reliability, speed, security, cost and recovery from unexpected situations,” he said. “The harder the environment to control, the harder the robotics problem becomes. Most human tasks involve more variation and more judgment than a package sorting demonstration.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re at the point of mass replacement by humanoid robots. We’re much closer to selectively automating some tasks. AI software is moving faster and already affecting some forms of information work, but physical robots still have a much harder problem to solve.”
In another video in May, a human worker succeeded sort more packages compared to a team of Figure robots, which changed when a refill was needed. Figure CEO Brett Adock said it would be the last time “a human will ever win.”
Source: Brett Adock
Humans are still better than bots in some areas
Markus Levin, co-founder of the decentralized data network XYO, said that AI models and automation software can perform repetitive tasks with much greater consistency and endurance than humans; however, robots still require charging, maintenance and monitoring.
A report from the International Federation of Robotics in September found that global demand for factory robots has doubled over the past decade, with warehouses and logistics among the fastest-growing areas of adoption.
“I believe widespread human replacement will still be years away,” added Levin, “Reliability, security, regulation, infrastructure costs and trust remain major barriers to full implementation across society. The challenge is no longer just to make machines capable of operating, but to ensure they can operate safely and reliably as they take on greater autonomy.”
dr. Francisco Cruz Naranjo, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales with a PhD in robotics, said a robot’s performance compared to humans is highly dependent on activity and environment.
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“Robots are much better at repetitive tasks without the need for constant pauses, as shown in the Livestream image. However, in highly dynamic environments, robots still struggle to quickly adapt to changing conditions,” he said.
“Humans, in this case, are much better. This is precisely why robots are currently very effective in controlled environments, such as factories, but have not yet succeeded widely in home settings.”
Naranjo said there is a risk that repetitive tasks performed in a less static environment will be replaced by robots, but that will depend on how quickly research progresses and how quickly society adapts in areas such as creating a robot-friendly space, which is likely years away.
Robots in society could be useful
Naranjo and Obst said the mass introduction of robots into the workforce could have some benefits, such as improving work-life balance, increasing the workforce in underserved areas and addressing dangerous environments that are too risky for humans.
“The social issue is more difficult. If robots make dangerous work cheaper in human terms, that can be good. But it can also have unintended consequences. For example, keeping people out of harm’s way in military operations can save lives, but it could also reduce the perceived cost of conflict,” Obst said.
“Hypothetically, if we became very successful in automating almost all work, then society would have to rethink the economies that are currently built around personal wages and employment.”
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