Elon Musk is intent on shaping the future of robotics and artificial intelligence, providing the world with an array of robots that will change how humans live.
He wrote in a magazine article, "Tesla Bots are initially positioned to replace people in repetitive, boring, and dangerous tasks. But the vision is for them to serve millions of households, such as cooking, mowing lawns, and caring for the elderly."
While that might seem exciting, is it truly human? Should we eliminate all "boring" work?
Value of work
The Catechism of the Catholic Church praises the value of work in general, linking it to our existence on earth:
Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. Hence work is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat." Work honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him.
The Catechism even goes so far as to claim that work is "redemptive":
It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish. Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.
If only robots do any work in life, will we have any hardship to offer to God?
Often the boring things in life are those things that bring us closer to God.
Furthermore, if we assign robots the task of "caring for the elderly," how will we fulfill our Gospel obligation to care for those in need?
St. John Paul II reminds us that we need to evaluate our use of technology in the light of our humanity:
Does this progress, which has man for its author and promoter, make human life on earth "more human" in every aspect of that life?
As we face a "brave new world," may we think before we embrace every new shiny thing.
