According to engineerlive.com, the IEEE has released a comprehensive global survey revealing that 77% of technology leaders expect humanoid robots to become commonplace coworkers within two years. The study found that 96% of technologists globally agree that innovation and adoption of agentic AI will accelerate dramatically in 2026, with enterprises and startups deepening their investments. Robotics ranks as a top area where AI will have influence, with 52% of respondents expecting significant impact. The survey also shows that 51% believe 26-50% of jobs across the global economy will be augmented by AI software in 2026, while 30% think it could be 51-75%. Additionally, 49% of technology leaders estimate it will take five to seven years to build out the global data center infrastructure needed to meet AI demand growth.
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The Agentic AI Reality Check
Here’s the thing about agentic AI – it’s basically AI that can work independently when you give it a task, but you still need to double-check everything it produces. Think of it as a super-smart assistant that’s great at execution but still needs human oversight. The survey shows 91% of technologists expect this type of AI to be used for analyzing massive datasets, which actually means we’ll need more human data analysts to verify results and ensure transparency. It’s kind of ironic – the more AI we deploy, the more human expertise we need to manage it properly.
Humanoid Coworkers Coming Soon?
So about those humanoid robots becoming coworkers… 77% of tech leaders think they’ll add some fun to the workplace initially, but then become just another colleague with circuits. But let’s be real – are we actually ready for this? The technology is advancing faster than our ability to integrate it socially and ethically. We’re talking about physical machines working alongside humans, not just software tools. The survey suggests robotics will be one of the top areas influenced by AI in 2026, along with extended reality and autonomous vehicles. Basically, we’re looking at a workplace transformation that goes way beyond ChatGPT.
The Infrastructure Time Bomb
Now here’s the part that worries me – nearly half of those surveyed think it will take five to seven years to build the data center infrastructure needed to support all this AI growth. That’s a massive gap between AI capability and the infrastructure required to run it. Think about the energy demands, the cooling requirements, the physical space needed. And one third think it could happen in three to four years? That seems incredibly optimistic given the current state of global data centers. We’re already seeing power constraints in some regions, and AI workloads are only going to make that worse.
The Skills Shift Nobody’s Talking About
The most interesting finding might be what the survey reveals about future hiring. As AI takes over more routine tasks, the skills companies want are shifting toward things like prompt engineering, data analysis, and AI system management. It’s not about replacing humans entirely – it’s about creating new roles that work alongside AI systems. The IEEE survey suggests we’re heading toward a future where human-AI collaboration becomes the norm across software, finance, healthcare, and transportation. But are our education systems and workforce training programs keeping up? Probably not fast enough.
