Human workers aren't just happy to take orders from robots in the

Even the most optimistic of economic forecasters agree that robots are taking our jobs. Not all of them, certainly, and not overnight, but it's happening, and with this in mind researchers have begun exploring a potentially touchy subject in the workplace of the future: what happens when a robot tells you what to do? As it turns out, good things. A new study simulating a production line staffed by humans and robots has found that not only are we comfortable taking orders from robots, but that we actively prefer it, believing that robotic guidance increases efficiency and removes the problem of ego from the command chain. "In our research we were seeking to find that sweet spot for ensuring that the human workforce is both satisfied and productive," Matthew Gombolay, lead author on the study conducted by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) told MIT News. "We discovered that the answer is to actually give machines more autonomy, if it helps people to work together more fluently with robot teammate."