Could Robots do Our Housework?

Robots perform 39% of domestic chores, a recent survey has found.

19:23 10 April 2023

A recent study has found that around 39per cent of time spent on housework and caring for loved ones could be automated in the next 10 years. 

Experts say that through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), chores ranging from grocery shopping to caring for the young and old, would be performed by specialised robots in the future. 

The research, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, showcased the works of researchers from the University of Oxford and Ochanomizu University in Japan who wanted to know what impact robots might have on unpaid domestic work. 

Dr Lulu Shi, postdoctoral researcher, Oxford Internet Institute, said: "Only 28% of care work, including activities such as teaching your child, accompanying your child, or taking care of an older family member, is predicted to be automated."

Ekaterina Hertog, associate professor in AI and Society at Oxford University and one of the study authors draws parallels with the optimism which has long surrounded self-driving cars: "The promise of self-driving cars, being on the streets, replacing taxis, has been there, I think, for decades now - and yet, we haven't been able quite to make robots function well, or these self-driving cars navigate the unpredictable environment of our streets. Homes are similar in that sense".