Sitting in the Philippines, an engineer controls a robot in Japan: Digital workers in the AI era

In a building in Manila’s financial district, about 60 young workers operate robots that sort goods at convenience stores in Tokyo. When the robots have problems, like dropping a can, they wear virtual reality goggles and use joysticks to handle the situation.

These robots were developed by the Tokyo startup Telexistence, using Nvidia and Microsoft platforms. From 2022, they will be deployed in more than 300 FamilyMart and Lawson stores, with 7-Eleven coming soon.

“It’s very difficult to find workers to sort goods in Japan, and if you do find them, the cost is very high,” said Juan Paolo Villonco, founder of Astro Robotics, a robot operator in Manila.

Each operator oversees about 50 robots. Most of the time, the robots operate autonomously, but about 4% of the time, manual intervention is needed. For example, if a robot drops a bottle and it rolls away. Getting a robot to pick it up by perfectly replicating the human grip—the friction, the feel of the metal in the hand—is one of the biggest challenges in robotics. Then the operator has to intervene.

When a robot drops a can, workers at Astro Robotics use a virtual reality headset to help retrieve it. (Source: Rest of World)

Tech workers: Opportunities and trade-offs

The Philippines, the world 's outsourcing hub, has seen steady demand for automation and AI-related positions from international companies, said Jose Mari Lanuza, research lead at the Sigla Center for Technology Studies in Manila.

“IT companies are racing to find cheap labor,” he said.

These positions require more technical skills than content moderation or large language model training—the types of jobs typically associated with developing countries.

But even these positions face familiar trade-offs: They are often hired on temporary contracts and earn lower salaries than their counterparts in developed countries. Some of these positions can even devalue people more than being replaced by machines or AI, according to Lionel Roberts, a robotics professor at the University of Michigan.

“Now, they are no longer losing their jobs to machines, but becoming supervisors of machines working. You are like the 'alternative version' of the robot,” he said.

Rowel Atienza, a professor of machine learning at the University of the Philippines, shared that a third of his students are recruited by foreign companies, including those based in the US.

Remote operators like these face enormous pressure. They report feeling dizzy and lightheaded from cybersickness, a type of motion sickness associated with VR. The condition is related to the amount of time they use virtual reality headsets. In a typical eight-hour shift, they control the robot about 50 times, spending up to five minutes each time trying to fix a problem.

A remote worker sorts goods for a convenience store in Japan. (Source: NextShark)

Automation does not mean job loss

Automation is accelerating globally. The AI market is expected to grow eightfold to $43 billion by 2030, while the industrial robotics market will almost double, according to MarkNtel Advisors.

“The combination of automation and offshoring is a turning point for many countries, including the US,” said Professor Lionel Robert from the University of Michigan.

He argues that automation may reduce local employment, but it will increase the demand for skilled workers, who are paid more. However, the cost of developing AI systems in the US is very high: from $10,000 for a basic chatbot to $300,000 for an enterprise-level system. Meanwhile, the cost is much lower in the Philippines.

"The future will have a 'hybrid' workforce between robots, AI, automation and humans," said Professor Lionel Robert. (Photo: Rest of World)

In the Philippines, the “hybrid” future between humans and machines is already here. Besides IT service jobs, young engineers here are contributing to building AI systems for global corporations such as Amazon and Coca-Cola.

Despite the growing power of AI, Professor Lionel Robert asserts: “Complete automation will not happen. Humans are still very useful. The future will have a “hybrid” workforce of robots, AI, automation and humans.”

According to a survey by the World Economic Forum of 1,000 employers worldwide, the proportion of jobs reserved solely for humans is forecast to decline rapidly in the coming time. Notably, 41% of them said they are likely to cut staff because the skills of workers no longer match the new requirements in the era of automation and artificial intelligence.

Mr. Quang

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ngoi-o-philippines-ky-su-dieu-khien-robot-o-nhat-ban-lao-dong-so-thoi-ai-ar973090.html