Business Insider Anthropic's robotics research puts more hands-on jobs in AI's path. But messy tasks such as gardening remain hard to automate.
- Anthropic examined what might happen when AI and robots are combined.
- That could put more hands-on jobs, including gardening, in the path of automation, Anthropic warned.
- I'm skeptical that robots can handle the messy reality of pulling weeds.
Remember when Anthropic's AI jobs report suggested gardeners were among the safest workers because AI couldn't pull weeds or tell a rose from a dandelion? I joked about that in AI Insider earlier this year.
Well, Anthropic updated the research to freak us all out a bit more. This time it asks a bigger question: What happens when you combine AI with robots? That change pushes many hands-on jobs much higher on the disruption scale. On paper, it makes sense. In practice, I'm skeptical.
For instance, anyone who's spent time working in a garden knows how hard it is to identify the right plant, kneel in awkward spots, and pull a weed out properly by the roots without damaging everything around it. Robots are improving. But if you've ever watched one tackle a messy real-world task, you'll know there's a long road between a research chart and reality.
The chart below illustrates how adding robots could change job-task exposure across selected job categories. Cleaning & maintenance includes gardeners along with janitors and similar roles.
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