Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Will Robots Lead to 75% Unemployment?

In fact, the study found that where jobs are too dangerous, where labor costs are too high, and where there is a need for extreme precision, robots directly lead to job preservation and creation because they allow a company to stay in business where it otherwise wouldn’t. Further, robots increase the need for support staff and operators. One example is medical-assisting robots such as those made by Hansen Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNSN) and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG). Without the use of these extreme precision robots, the surgeries they assist in may not be able to be performed because of the high risk of failure, and death.

Finally, the study concluded that the increased use of robotics indirectly leads to job creation by allowing companies, and the sectors that they occupy, to expand, thus increasing the need for “downstream activity” support.

More pointedly, Aaron Edsinger CTO of Redwood Robotics, and Rodney Brooks, founder of iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) and now Rethink Robotics, believe that robots will “reinvent and reinvigorate” the economy the same way computers did 30 years ago, and the way the tractor did to agriculture before that.

Should you worry?
The robotic impact on unemployment could go either way, but one thing is certain: Robots are becoming more capable every day, thanks to things such as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s Goggles, an image recognition service for mobile devices, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Kinect, which allows robots to take pictures and create 3-D scans of objects, thereby allowing the robot to grasp an object and move it to its appropriate place.

As such, this technology promises to be the wave of the future, regardless of the impact on unemployment. The good news is that by investing in companies that specialize in robotics, today, you may be able to retire thanks to stock profits, if you lose your job to a robot in the future.

The article Will Robots Lead to 75% Unemployment? originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Katie Spence.

Fool contributor Katie Spence has no position in any stocks mentioned. Follow her on Twitter: @TMFKSpence. The Motley Fool recommends Google and Intuitive Surgical and owns shares of Google, Intuitive Surgical, and Microsoft.

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