As If There Was Any Question About Data Centers Being Weak Job Creators, Meta Is Now Deploying Robots to Maintain Them
"We thought those of us performing the physical tasks were safe for a while, but not anymore." The post As If There Was Any Question About Data Centers Being Weak Job Creators, Meta Is Now Deploying Robots to Maintain Them appeared first on Futurism .
Since the start of the data center boom, "job creation" was touted as a key benefit for communities considering hosting massive tech facilities. However, most jobs in data centers are temporary construction positions, as actual labor is minimal. Data center operators relied on small crews to manually monitor, patrol, and maintain these facilities.
Now, even this may be at risk. According to Ars Technica, Meta is experimenting with robots to automate data center maintenance, aiming to cut labor costs further. The project is in its preliminary stages, testing robots from companies like ABB, Kinova, and Watney Robotics for tasks such as swapping network cables and cycling power to server racks.
One unnamed Meta employee expressed concern that physical jobs may no longer be safe, as robots could potentially handle up to 80% of the workload. Meta declined to comment on the robot testing, but the company is clearly investing heavily in automating data center maintenance despite the minimal labor costs involved.
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