A Case Study on the Future of Humanity: AI and Robotics Worker Replacement

Abstract

This case study explores the disruptive and potentially transformative impact of humanoid robots and artificial intelligence on society and work in the future. Based on Tesla's "Optimus" robot and Industry 4.0, the study provokes students to think about questions related to technological ethics, work displacement, and automation on a mass level. Drawing on contemporary news and hypothetical scenarios, the case challenges participants to reflect critically upon what happens when computers can learn, get better, and perform complex work more economically and better than human beings. With discussion topics and media clips, including from "The Tesla Bot Will Break Reality," the research encourages consideration of Universal Basic Income (UBI), algorithmic rule, and questions of power, ownership, and control. Will robots usher in a utopia of creative liberty, or an era of wealth and power in a dystopia? Through the examination of these tensions, the case creates debate on fairness, human agency, and co-created futures in the age of smart machines.