AI and Safety – Safe Robot-Human Interaction Fatality File

The dark side of artificial intelligence adoption

A 45-year-old warehouse picker begins working at a facility where mobile robots deliver items to his station for scanning and packing. Over several months, he finds that his tasks are increasingly repetitive, his decision-making removed, and his pace dictated by machine timing. He is no longer interacting with co-workers, he feels his job has no meaning, and he begins to experience persistent anxiety—wondering if his job will be replaced entirely.

He reports feeling exhausted emotionally, isolated even though surrounded by technology, and starts showing signs of low mood, insomnia and reduced life satisfaction. His supervisor notes a drop in his engagement, and the worker later seeks counselling for depression linked to these changes in his work environment.

Source: Nature.com