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I played a VR game that shows what jobs will be like when AI fully takes over, and it made me slightly more comfortable welcoming my future robot replacementhttps://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/i-played-a-vr-game-that-shows-what-jobs-will-be-like-when-ai-fully-takes-over-and-it-made-me-slightly-more-comfortable-welcoming-my-future-robot-replacement/slidelist/69149946.cms2019-05-02T21:18:30+05:30

I played a VR game that shows what jobs will be like when AI fully takes over, and it made me slightly more comfortable welcoming my future robot replacement

May 2, 2019, 21:18 IST

After looking around to gather HDMI cables, charged VR wands, headphones, and other miscellaneous tech, I finally got set up to play "Job Simulator" using Playstation VR.

When I first entered the game, I was greeted by a robot that told me I had 4 options for jobs I wanted to try out: a cook, a convenience store clerk, a car repairman, and a typical desk worker.

I mostly sit at desks all day, so I opted for what I felt I knew best: office worker. Seemed easy enough.

I got situated in front of a box computer from the 1990s. Also, I noticed all the "robots that took over" were speaking to me through box computers. Why did the tech look so backwards if I'm supposed to be in 2050? I was immediately confused.

I stared at my screen for a while not knowing what I was supposed to do. I realized I just had to turn my head to see a box-computer-robot telling me to take a paper and find out my first task.

My first task was to make coffee and eat a donut. Simple enough — except I couldn't figure out how to grab hold of the mug properly. I ended up spilling the coffee all over my power strip.

I moved on to my next task: turning my computer on. I got the password and screen on, but the power button was located on a computer tower placed underneath my desk.

My VR headset was not oriented properly, so I ultimately couldn't reach the button using my wands. After struggling to turn my desktop on, I had to abort mission and try another job. I threw my desk ball cradle in frustration.

Next up: chef. I was in a kitchen where I got a sink that turned into a stove or a blender at the press of a button.

I now had the hang of using my VR set, so this round went a lot quicker. I made eggs and bacon with ease, boiled water in 5 seconds, and made a tomato-carrot smoothie.

I'm not a chef, so I don't know how accurate the work was, but this round ended up seeming the most realistic. Box-computer robots of the year 2050 did a good job figuring out how humans made food.

Next up, I decided to figure out how to be a convenience store clerk. I was placed behind a cash register of what appeared to be a 7-Eleven and had to ring up chips for a teenage robot.

A robot told me to make hot dogs for customers, and I met my match again: the way I was facing didn't allow me to grab frozen hot dogs from the freezer.

After struggling to re-orient myself for 20 minutes, my computer began to run out of battery and I had to stop playing Job Simulator. Unfortunately, I'll never know what robots think mechanics do.

All in all, I wish my first experience with virtual reality didn't have so many technical difficulties. That being said, I enjoyed the game's silly take on automation.

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