Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Meet your new colleague
Technology
October 5, 2021 – Robots replacing humans? Not so fast. Today’s technologies are more about augmenting and supplementing humans, not replacing them entirely. Check out the latest edition of McKinsey for Kids and flip through the interactive to learn more about how robots are helping us out in hospitals, hotels, on the road, and more.
To explore the interactive, see “McKinsey for Kids: I, Robot? What technology shifts mean for tomorrow’s jobs,” August 23, 2021.
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Visual form
Slide-based illustration sequence.
Layout / body structure
The visual is built as a dark, card-like slide show with a title at the top, a row of contextual icons above the main panel, and one large illustrated robot scene in the center. Reader takes the highlighted scenario label first and then the caption and line drawing inside the framed scene.
What is being compared
The chart compares different settings in which robots can act as workplace collaborators. The observed slides move between use cases such as emergency response and vehicle production, so the comparison is task-by-task and setting-by-setting rather than numerical.
Measurement system
There is no numeric axis on this chart. The comparison is qualitative, using scene changes, scenario labels, and captions to show where and how robots fit into different kinds of work.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Each frame keeps the same skeleton: a highlighted scenario name, faded adjacent icons for other contexts, and a large white-and-blue line drawing of a robot performing a specific job. In the observed slides, one frame shows a tracked emergency-response robot handling a hazardous bag, while another shows an industrial robotic arm working against a car-body outline.
Main takeaway from the visual
The presents robots as practical coworkers across multiple environments, especially in jobs that are dangerous, highly repetitive, or tied to industrial precision. The changing scenes make the technology feel less like one machine and more like a broad set of task-specific tools.
Key standout values or extremes
There are no numeric values on the displayed frames, so the main extremes are visual ones: the emergency scene emphasizes safety and hazard handling, while the automotive scene emphasizes scale, repetition, and precision inside a factory workflow.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This page uses a slide-through that swaps the central robot scene and scenario label from one workplace context to another.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart is the full visual on this page.