Would You Trust a Robot More Than Your Last Hire?

You're already ahead of most people just by showing up. And I mean that literally.

Here's a question I posed on a recent episode of the podcast that caught everyone off guard: would you spend $15,000 on a robot to watch your kid?

I'm talking diapers. Bottles. Bedtime. The whole deal. And here's the kicker, you know with 100% certainty that the robot is reliable. It shows up. Every single day. No excuses.

Before you answer, let me tell you why I even asked.

Someone close to me recently went through the process of hiring a nanny for their newborn. They found someone great. Offered the position. Then life happened, the candidate had a family emergency and needed to travel back to her home country. So they pushed the start date. Even helped cover travel costs. That's what good people do.

Then the start date came. No message. No call. Nothing.

Just the dreaded blue tick on a text message and complete radio silence. She ghosted.

Gone.

And here's what gets me. Even when life throws you the worst curveball imaginable, there is no excuse for ghosting someone who went out of their way to help you. A simple "Hey, this isn't going to work out" takes thirty seconds. Thirty seconds to preserve your integrity.

But this isn't just about nannies. This is happening everywhere.

Companies are watching people sign employment contracts and never show up for day one. Candidates accept offers and keep shopping for something slightly better. Somewhere along the line, we decided that ghosting was acceptable behavior.

It's not. Just be a good person.

John Wooden said it best: "The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching." And ghosting is exactly what people do when they think there are no consequences.

But here's the thing. Now there are consequences.

I saw a news clip recently showing humanoid robots being sold in shopping malls in China. Not concept videos. Not prototypes. Real robots you can walk up to and buy for around $15,000. Right now, today.

Think about that for a second. In South Africa, that's roughly two years of a nanny's salary, and you own a robot that watches your kid AND cleans your house. It never calls in sick. Never ghosts. Never takes a slightly better offer from the family down the street.

That math is starting to work really fast.

But here's where it gets interesting. Everyone talks about robots replacing jobs. I want to flip that conversation. What about robots assisting people who don't have jobs?

The US unemployment rate sits around 4.3%. In South Africa, it's north of 32%, probably closer to 40% in reality. A massive chunk of the population doesn't have work. And the entry-level positions, cleaning, childcare, domestic help, those are exactly the roles humanoid robots will fill first. So what happens when that 32% becomes 50%? People talk about universal basic income as the answer. But is every government equipped for that? Can developing economies handle that kind of shift? These aren't future problems. They're right around the corner.

Technology always gets cheaper. Always gets better. Always gets faster.

I remember when flat screen TVs first came out and cost $20,000 or $30,000. Now people give them away. The same curve is coming for humanoid robots.

Here's what I know for sure: the people who will thrive are the ones who are reliable, adaptable, and decent human beings. The ones who show up. The ones who communicate. The ones who don't ghost.

"A lot of times your job's getting replaced just because you're not reliable. Just because you're ghosting people. That's why you're getting replaced. Don't blame the technology."

If I had to pull out one king move from this whole conversation, it's simple.

Don't be a dick, or a robot will replace you.

Catch the full episode here: Would You Let a Robot Babysit Your Child?