Leaders | Automation

The world should welcome the rise of the robots

Concerns over mass unemployment are unfounded

THE WORD “robot” was coined in 1920 by the Czech playwright Karel Capek. In “R.U.R.” (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”) Capek imagined artificial, fully functional servants. For most of their history, however, robots have been dumb, inelegant mechanical devices sitting out of sight in factories.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Rise of the robots”

Where will he stop?

From the February 26th 2022 edition

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