Robots are nothing new in the industrial world, yet the creation of a new AI-powered robot that stretches 20 feet into the air could end up making large numbers of construction workers redundant.
One of the biggest concerns of the AI revolution is the sheer number of jobs that will be eradicated following advancements in the field. While Bill Gates certainly takes the optimistic view of things - suggesting it'll allow humans to reduce their work to just two or three days a week - it's understandable why many would feel worried about what's to come.
Most fears so far have focused on the technology's capacity to write and produce images, with experts indicating that jobs like customer service representatives, data entry professionals, and translators are among those most at risk of redundancy.
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However, a new creation designed by RIC Robots poses a major threat to the construction field, as it outlines plans for a 20-foot-tall autonomous robot that will aim to replace humans on the job site.
As reported by The Register, the robot, named Zyrex, is poised to become available as a working prototype early next year. It’ll be capable of welding, carpentry, and even 3D printing buildings, among many other tasks.
Zyrex uses Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology alongside Vision-Language-Action (VLA) AI sensors to move around and complete actions, and its key unique property is its advanced cognitive capabilities.
Unlike other workplace robotics, Zyrex will be almost entirely independent thanks to its internal AI software, which RIC Robotics claims will help solve the issues of labor shortages and high-risk tasks.
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It won't reach this autonomous stage immediately, though, as it'll likely be operated by humans through VR technology initially, while the AI software and LiDAR tech learns how to work on their own over time.
Bill Gates has claimed that there will only be a few jobs that'll survive the AI revolution, arguing that tech employed in innovations like Zyrex will help 'solve' problems typically involved in manual labor. RIC Robotics founder Ziyou Xu has claimed that the company is "engineering the future of construction."
Some across the internet aren't quite convinced that the robot future in high-risk areas is quite as near as some might have you believe, though.
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"Jobs that come with huge responsibility like surgeons, home-builders, [and] lawyers will be the last to be totally replaced by AI imo," writes one Reddit user in a conversation surrounding tech similar to Zyrex. "If anything was to go wrong the financial cost (lawsuits) to the AI company could be enormous."
While it's certainly true that autonomous robots would dramatically reduce the risk of injury in the workplace and would also (in theory) increase productivity, there are still valid concerns surrounding the long-term safety of what an AI could produce, especially at this current moment in time.