Robots equipped with artificial intelligence technology have started to become widespread in every field today. Recently, robots that help with household chores have become quite popular. According to a study by researchers at the University of Oxford and Ochanomizu University, 39 percent of housework is predicted to become automated by 2033. In this research, it is stated that the area most affected by automation will be grocery shopping, and child and elderly care will be among the areas that will be least affected. In addition, it has been determined that robots used in domestic work, especially vacuum cleaners, are the most produced and sold robots worldwide.
Researchers; He asked 65 artificial intelligence experts, 29 from the UK and 36 from Japan, for their opinions on how automation in home work will take shape. In the study, published in the journal PLOS One, experts predicted that grocery shopping would be the job most affected by automation. However, the care of young and old people has been determined as the job that will be least affected by artificial intelligence technologies. In addition, it was concluded that British male experts were more positive towards automation in housework compared to their female counterparts, while the opposite was true in Japan.
The tasks that experts think automation can do vary. “Only 28 percent of care work is thought to be automated, including tasks such as teaching and caring for children,” said Dr Lulu Shi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford.
According to experts, it is estimated that the technology will reduce the time spent on grocery shopping by 60 percent and robots will free people from household chores. However, these estimates are not new. A TV show aired in 1966 reported on a home robot that could cook dinner, walk the dog, babysit, shop, prepare cocktails, and many other tasks. If the creators of this robot were paid £1 million, it was estimated that this technology would be on the market in 1976. However, Assoc. Dr. Ekaterina Hertog warns, with the example of self-driving cars, that making robots fully usable for housework may be difficult due to challenges in unpredictable environments.
According to the findings of the study, home automation technologies can lead to greater gender equality, especially by reducing the time women spend on housework. Especially in the UK, although about half of men do as much housework as women, the majority of housework is still done by women. This can have a negative impact on women’s careers, earnings, savings and retirement.
However, the researchers note that making a generic robot is difficult and expensive, and technologies that assist humans rather than replace humans may be more useful. For this reason, it is thought that home automation technologies can reduce the burden of housework on women, as well as help people while doing their housework.
It is important to remind that the data are only estimates, because some predictions in the field of technology have not been realized in history. For example, predictions made in the early 1900s were that flying cars would enter our lives in the 21st century. However, when we come to 2023, there is no realization of this prediction other than a few projects.
