Last Updated on February 1, 2025 by Brian Beck
Anyone who was alive and breathing in 1983 will remember the Styx hit song, Mr. Roboto, off of the album, Kilroy was here. The song was a satirical look of futuristic robotic life, as it tells the story of a robot imprisoned in a factory, who sings about wanting to be free and wanting to express emotions. If you have never heard the song I encourage you to get on Spotify and check it out. If you are a Baby-Boomer I might have lost you as I have given away my Gen-X status and might hopefully appeal to younger generations who appreciate good music and technology.
I do however want to appeal to everyone with the technology of automation as it as been around us for a long time. One of the earliest forms that I can think of is the dishwasher, first invented by a woman I might add, in 1850, first automated in 1886, a godsend for any home. Who likes washing dishes? One of the noteworthy items in abandoned sod homes on the prairie of the United States during westward expansion were unwashed dishes. Yeah, I’d say that most people hate doing dishes. One of the other machines to have been automated was the washing machine in 1937, do I need to say more? This became a big hit after Word War II and probably saved the sanity of millions of housewives and others since. Most people have no idea what a washboard is. Something else that became a big hit after the war when the factories returned to making consumer goods rather than Jeeps, tanks and bombers was the gas powered lawn mower. With the post-war invention of the concept of suburbia, where returning GI’s created the biggest prosperity mechanism in history, the American middle class, came with it the modern concept of the turf lawn.
There is going to be a lot of change in the next few years that is either going to empower, frighten or enrage people. Hopefully I can help dispel some of this anxiety with this blog. If you have been reading any of my blogs you know where this is going. Yup, robotic mowing. Let me firmly state that Robotic Mowing is not a fad or a gimmick but a response and solution to an industry that is gravely outdated with a very inefficient and outdated business model that is filled with a lot of wasted energy spent through human and mechanical movement. Change does not have to be scary. If you embrace it and become educated it can work for you. I want to cover some objections that I have encountered that will help illustrate my point.
Objection #1- “It will take jobs.”
I was thinking about how many jobs the horse and buggy created. From the breeder and the guy who grew hay to the farrier, the veterinarian, the manure salesman, the buggy maker, the guy who repaired wheels on buggies and the guy who carried off deceased animals that fell in the streets, etc. I can only think of a few dozen jobs, all of which vanished over 100 years ago with the mass adoption of the automobile. Now, how many jobs does the automobile create? From the miner who procures raw materials to the factory worker to the salesman and the repair mechanic and the insurance salesman and the aftermarket parts supplier and the stereo salesman and the satellite service that plays music on it, the list goes on and on and on. The point is that a more complex inventions will create more jobs, not less. The creation of a job should come from necessity and not charity. Milton Friedman visited China back in the 60’s and went on a tour with their minister of labor upon witnessing a jobs project where there were thousands and Chinese working digging a canal the minister proclaimed, “Look at all of the jobs that we have created.” Friedman retorted by saying, “If you wanted to create more jobs, why not give them spoons rather than shovels?” The point is labor should be efficient and not exist just for the sake of employment, that should come from innovation and adaptation to it.
Objection #2- “I can mow it faster with a gas powered mower.”
I hate washing dishes. I think it stems from a job I had in high school at a steakhouse where I was a dishwasher. It was brutal work and I don’t miss it. When I was able to get a dishwasher as an adult I sometimes ran it out of pure spite and celebration in not having to wash dishes by hand. My wife will sometimes wash dishes by hand because she thinks it is faster, it is. The reality is however that the dishwasher can wash the dishes using about half the energy of heat and water and I do not need to watch it to make it happen. This is the essence of automation and efficiency. I hear a lot of guys that are wrapped up in horsepower remark about how much faster they can mow a lawn. I tell them, “Yes, but you have to be there with the mower to make that happen.” That mower simply does not pull itself out at night and goes mowing by itself. That would be insane. Then I hear comments like,” It looks like a toy, how can it possibly do more work?” I tell them, “Have you been paying attention to the Ukraine-Russo war? There are thousands of Russian tankers that have been taken out in their T-72 tanks (a formidable tank) by a $2000 Ukrainian drone flown by a guy who worked in an office before the war.” That is the essence of effectiveness and cost efficiency. The point is that a machine that can exist in dozens or even hundreds of areas simultaneously can make you omnipresent and leverage your time while using the cost savings of human and mechanical energy to be a force multiplier. Ever see a 6’3″ guy that weighs 275lbs get swarmed by a nest of yellow jackets? It’s ugly and the insects will win every time.
Objection #3- “I like mowing my own lawn.”
I love this one because it is complex. While half of the people use it as a cop out over money, the other half who are telling the truth look at me weird when I ask them how many lawns they cut throughout the week. Listen, I get the whole detachment from nature, I hate working in an office thing. Working in the fields has become part of our DNA after thousands of years and it is hard to stop and still be human but the reality is that a lawn really needs to be cut more than once per week. That is a post WWII compromise that has been adopted as orthodoxy over the past few decades. The horticultural and biological reality is that the technology did not exist at the time gas powered mowers came to market and it has taken this long for it to catch up with the possibility of automation. If you want a killer lawn cut it more than once per week and see what happens.
Objection #4- “Robots are immoral and the dehumanize human beings.”
This is a bit on the fringe but I will respect a different opinion. I just have a few questions. Did you use your HVAC to heat your home today? Did you eat any food that came from a supermarket? Did you use anything with electricity today? Did you drive a car today? These are all forms of mechanization or automated mechanization. They are tools and they make human life more comfortable and easier. I’ll just leave it a that. Tesla is going to be selling robots next year, I’m think about getting one or two.
Objection #5- “Robotic mowers are expensive.”
I would have agreed with this statement about 5 years ago. Now they are far more cost effective and far easier to use. Just like any technology, they get cheaper as adoption increases. Remember the $800 VHS machines? If you look at it from an economic view, regardless if you pay for or mow your lawn yourself, the mowers can operate for a few dollars per hour and after you pay it off it is just maintenance and energy which is pennies on the dollar.
Times are changing and it can be fun or terrifying depending on your outlook. I do hope that you spend some time investigating about how robotic mowers will make your life easier. It is pretty cool to have your lawn mowed at 2am and you get to wake up to a fresh cut lawn without having to think about it.
