# The Robot Economy: Here It Comes

## TL;DR

This paper discusses the emerging robot economy, highlighting how increasing robot autonomy and capabilities could transform labor dynamics and economic activities, raising societal and economic challenges.

## Contribution

It introduces a technological framework for understanding the robot economy and explores potential socio-economic challenges of autonomous robots participating in economic activities.

## Key findings

- Robots are developing advanced cognitive and physical capabilities.
- Autonomous robots could participate directly in economic activities.
- The paper outlines challenges posed by robot integration into the economy.

## Abstract

Automation is not a new phenomenon, and questions about its effects have long followed its advances. More than a half-century ago, US President Lyndon B. Johnson established a national commission to examine the impact of technology on the economy, declaring that automation "can be the ally of our prosperity if we will just look ahead". In this paper, our premise is that we are at a technological inflection point in which robots are developing the capacity to greatly increase their cognitive and physical capabilities, and thus raising questions on labor dynamics. With increasing levels of autonomy and human-robot interaction, intelligent robots could soon accomplish new human-like capabilities such as engaging into social activities. Therefore, an increase in automation and autonomy brings the question of robots directly participating in some economic activities as autonomous agents. In this paper, a technological framework describing a robot economy is outlined and the challenges it might represent in the current socio-economic scenario are pondered.