ABSTRACT
The chapter looks at the impact of robotization on the three arms of the economy: agriculture, manufacturing, and services. In regard to agriculture, there has been much greater robotization in developed countries than elsewhere with even nuanced activities such as picking fruits being robotized; however, in developing countries, policy changes are underway, which point to robotization in the near future. Robotization has resulted in the development of precision agriculture, which could decrease many aspects of agricultural cost and significantly increase yield. In manufacturing, there has been a significant displacement of humans from their jobs as a result of robotization because of the higher efficiency of robots and the greater ease of managing these as opposed to humans. The use of robots has also permeated the services sector but the superior ability of humans to engage in emotion-laden interaction and manage uncertainty implies that in sectors such as hospitality, entertainment, and geriatric care there would not be job destruction of any significance; rather many new opportunities could arise because of the implications of robotization for timesaving and the pursuit of leisure.
