Robo-Bureaucrats: Threat or Menace?
Never mind replacing factory and service industry workers: What if robots could replace bureaucrats? After all, nearly 22 million Americans are employed at all levels of government. Lots of them are involved in applying rules and making routine decisions. What if ever-smarter software could function as robo-administrative law judges, robo-comptrollers, robo-clerks, robo-magistrates, robo-deputy assistant secretaries of transportation or agriculture—in short, robo-bureaucrats?
Infotech is already becoming more adept at handling some tasks than human experts are. IBM’s Watson cognitive computing system is reportedly better at diagnosing cancer than are physicians, and investors are increasingly trusting the algorithms behind robo-advisers like Betterment and Wealthfront to handle their retirement and other funds. Could robot administrators powered by computer algorithms and neural networks even-handedly apply rules and make objective decisions in allocating resources?
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