𝗕𝗘𝗭𝗢𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗧. 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗢𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗦 𝗨𝗣. 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗞.

While you were watching billionaires, the robot revolution already landed. You just missed the boat.

Last week, I posted about AI+robotics job displacement and the urgent need for UBI. 

This week, Jeff Bezos dropped $6.2B on Project Prometheus to automate manufacturing.

When you read headlines like that, it feels disconnected from reality, doesn't it?

Billionaires. Silicon Valley. $6.2 billion. These numbers feel abstract, remote, like someone else's future in someone else's world.

But here's what everyone misses about distance and time:

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: You don't need Silicon Valley to see this future.

Just look in my backyard: Tharsus, right here in Newcastle, has been revolutionising warehouse robotics since 2013—shipping swarms of intelligent robots to Ocado warehouses from 2016.

While Figure 03 wobbles to fetch you a glass of water, thousands of Tharsus-built robots have been racing at 4m/second through warehouse grids for nearly a decade.

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: This isn't the future. This isn't even the near future.

That ship sailed years ago while we weren't paying attention.

Tharsus: 12+ years of AI-powered warehouse automation

Waymo: 250,000+ robotaxi rides per week, 5 US cities, now on freeways

Tesla Semi: FSD-equipped, 50,000 units/year starting late 2025

Autonomous buses: 35+ cities globally, Singapore public routes 2025

Now the billionaires are throwing fuel on the fire:

- Bezos: Prometheus ($6.2B, 100 top AI researchers)

- Google: Gemini Robotics (March 2025)

- Musk: xAI + Tesla Optimus + Semi at scale

- Meta: Llama powering robot platforms

- Waymo: Miami, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, London (2026)

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻:

Local firms innovate → Regional adoption → Tech giants scale → Your job disappears

Geoffrey Hinton: 20-50% of jobs gone by 2030

That's 5 years from a process that started 12 years ago.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 (worldwide):

- 15-20M truck drivers...with a shortage of 3M which is wide open

- 10M+ public transport drivers worldwide (taxi/ride-hail, bus, train)

- Millions in warehouse/logistics

All being actively automated. Right now.

My post last week: How Universal Credit must evolve into genuine UBI https://lnkd.in/eDTPJE8x

The 2025 UC Act was historic (biggest rise since 1980).

UBI pilots work (Alaska, Kenya, Finland, Iran).

A 1% tech profit levy could fund £1,200/month by 2035.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵:

Technology moves at commercial speed.

Policy moves at parliamentary speed.

That gap? That's where workers fall through.

From Newcastle warehouses to Silicon Valley billions to global transport networks.

Are we ready?

#UBI #UniversalCredit #Automation #AIethics #FutureOfWork #AutonomousVehicles #Newcastle