Declining Robotics Costs Drive Substitution for Human Labor

Robots, as a form of embodied artificial intelligence, are declining in cost so much that it is virtually inevitable they will become functional substitutes for human labor in many instances, as wage costs continue to grow at a relatively consistent rate. 

On the other hand, sometimes there is no substitute for humans.

Year	U.S. Labor Cost Index (Normalized)	Estimated Robot Cost per Working Hour (USD)
2010	80	40
2011	82	38
2012	85	36
2013	87	34
2014	90	32
2015	92	30
2016	95	28
2017	97	26
2018	100	24
2019	103	22
2020	106	20
2021	110	18
2022	113	16
2023	116	14
2024	119	12
2025	121	10

In many cases, at some point, there is a total cost of ownership crossover: it becomes more reasonable to use robots instead of humans for some tasks. 

Using an employment cost index, which compares wage costs, inflation and benefits, the cost of human labor has increased about 40 percent since 2010. The cost of using robots, per hour, has fallen 400 percent over the same period. 

Year	U.S. Labor Cost Index (Normalized)	Estimated Robot Cost per Working Hour (USD)
2010	80	40
2011	82	38
2012	85	36
2013	87	34
2014	90	32
2015	92	30
2016	95	28
2017	97	26
2018	100	24
2019	103	22
2020	106	20
2021	110	18
2022	113	16
2023	116	14
2024	119	12
2025	121	10

source: Marketwatch