Modern artificial intelligence-powered robots are impressive in their capabilities, but are still years away from replacing humans as they can\u2019t yet adapt to changing conditions, researchers say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month, AI robotics company Figure showcased its humanoid robots performing basic tasks, such<\/a> as cleaning a room, but a series of robots working for nine days straight sorting packages sparked conversation about how soon robots could replace jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oliver Obst, an associate professor of robotics at the Australia based University of New South Wales, told Cointelegraph that repetitive jobs such as physical work in structured environments are currently most at risk of being replaced by robots, while administrative and document-processing tasks could be replaced by AI.<\/p>\n There has been growing concern that AI and robots will replace people in jobs<\/a> as technology advances. A report in May from workforce consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found<\/a> that US companies have laid off an estimated 49,135 people in 2026 due to AI.<\/p>\n A group of Figure\u2019s robots worked for nine days straight sorting packages. Source: <\/em>Figure\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n However, Obst said that humanoid robots are unlikely to see a mass rollout soon because they don\u2019t appear to be more efficient or less error-prone than current robotic manufacturing methods.<\/p>\n \u201cEven in relatively structured settings, they still face problems with reliability, speed, safety, cost, and recovery from unexpected situations,\u201d he said. \u201cThe harder the environment is to control, the harder the robotics problem becomes. Most human jobs involve more variation and more judgment than the package-sorting demonstration.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would not say we are at the point of mass replacement by humanoid robots. We are much closer to the selective automation of some tasks. AI software is moving faster and is already affecting some forms of information work, but physical robots still have a much harder problem to solve.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In another video in May, a human worker managed<\/a> to sort more packages compared to a team of Figure\u2019s robots, which swapped out when needing a recharge. Figure CEO Brett Adock said it would be the last time \u201ca human will ever win.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Brett Adock<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Markus Levin, co-founder of decentralized data network XYO, said AI models and automation software can perform repetitive tasks with far greater consistency and endurance than humans; however, robots still require charging, maintenance and supervision.<\/p>\n A report in September from the International Federation of Robotics found<\/a> that global demand for factory robots has doubled over the last decade, with warehouses and logistics among the fastest-growing areas of adoption.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe broad human replacement is still likely years away,\u201d Levin added, \u201cReliability, safety, regulation, infrastructure costs, and trust remain major barriers to full-scale deployment across society. The challenge is no longer simply making machines capable of acting but ensuring they can operate safely and reliably as they take on greater autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Francisco Cruz Naranjo, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales with a PhD in robotics, said the efficiency of robots compared to people depends heavily on the activity and the environment.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3-images.ctmedia.io\/media\/content\/pasted-image-1265.png\")
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<\/figure>\n<\/p>\nPeople still better than bots in some areas\u00a0<\/h2>\n