A double-edged sword is something that has favorable and unfavorable consequences. Technology is often a good example of this.

Robots kill jobs but they create jobs, too. The Brookings Institute suggests that we'll all be replaced by robots someday. By 2030, about 36 million jobs will have been replaced by automation.

Do you think your job will eventually be replaced by robots? Both blue and white-collar routine jobs are at risk of displacement by robots, while non-routine occupations are more difficult to automate – for now.

Take a look at what's going on at Encore Boston Casino Resort. Because of softer-than-projected revenue from slot machines, the employees are feeling the pinch. About 70 bartenders and casino floor workers were told their jobs were being cut. These are the bartenders you never see because they're in the back-of-the-house service bars. They lost their jobs to new robot bartenders that can make up to 2,000 different, perfect cocktails faster than Joe the Bartender. Workers were at a loss for words to learn about their job loss.

So, what can be done to protect the worker? Demand that if the company replaces workers with robots, they have to provide a replacement job with the same pay?

I'm not one for punitive taxes, but some are saying we need to implement a "robot tax;" but that money wouldn't end up in a fund to create new jobs. If it did, a robot tax becomes an investment and a job creator for the economy of the future. If that was a guarantee, I'd give a robot tax a second look.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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