Where Are All The Robots Sci-Fi Told Us About?

We all know the robots are powering the Fourth Industrial Revolution right? Then how come we don’t see robots wandering around the streets just like it was forewarned in "I, Robot"? 

It really all depends on what your definition of a robot is doesn’t it? Well, if you look at it in a traditional way and how robots have powered industry and society in general you might think of a car assembling plant like below or other production facilities. 

The thing is, that’s not at all what a robot is like today. Well, it’s also that but it’s so much more. In fact, you’re probably surrounded by robots if you expand your definition a bit. Just bear with me for a moment while I ask you to do one exercise (sorry to all non-iPhone owners). Unlock your phone. Press down the front screen button and hold it. Now, what pops up? 

You guessed it. Your good old friend, Siri! Now, Siri doesn’t have any physical presence but she is none the less a robot. You give commands and she tries her best to follow. It’s as simple as that. Robots can be programmed to do tons of routine tasks like google searches, archive searches, restaurant bookings and what have you. Simple tasks that you would normally do sitting in front of a computer doing thinking that no robot could ever do that. Oh, how far are we removed from the days of Homer Simpson and the drinking bird? 

From here on I could go all Internet Of Things On You but my message is a bit more simple than that. Robots can be physical or software only. You can have your reservations about how it will work out for everyone i.e. will it be safe and so on? Certainly many stories have toyed with the clash of Man vs. Machine like I, Robot or Terminator no less. However, it’s much more down to earth than that and the fact is that robots are taking over more and more routine tasks and I bet you they will only keep getting more advanced. Now even lawyers need to watch out for the oncoming robots. Just take a look at ROSS. The world’s first robot lawyer. 

There’s really no telling what exactly it will mean for the future of work but I will try and explore the topic further within the world of Finance in a new series of posts over the next couple of weeks. I hope it can help spark a discussion as to the future of Finance and how we can best utilize technology to help add value to the company bottom-line. It really is a brave new world! 

What has been your experience with robots so far? Do you fear they will overtake your work one day? I for one think we’ve only scraped the surface of the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more to come on this one so better we meet it head on instead of running scared. As always let me know what you think by liking, commenting and sharing!  I also encourage you to join the group Finance Business Partner Forum where we will be discussing the on-going development of the finance function.

For previous posts on the future of Finance please continue reading below. 

Financial Analyst vs. Finance Business Partner

You’re A Finance Business Partner, Now What?

Case Study: Becoming A Finance Business Partner

Why We Need Business Partnering Transformation

How Finance Can Help When Business Is Bad

Why Accountants Are An Endangered Species

How Finance Can Become An Analytics Powerhouse

How Finance Business Partners Improve Company Performance

There Is A New Kind Of CFO Needed In Town

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the Senior Finance Business Partner for Maersk Line North Europe and is working with the transformation of Finance and business on a daily basis. Anders has participated in several transformation processes amongst others helping Maersk Drilling to go Beyond Budgeting and transformed a finance team from Bean-counters to Business Partners. He would love the chance to collaborate with you on your own transformation processes to help you stay out of disruption. If you are looking for more advice on how to get the most of LinkedIn Anders also has a few tips to share as well as if you want help in your job search. Don’t be shy! Let’s get in touch and start helping each other.