This thinkpiece wasn’t written by a robot.

Anyone who’s been following and nervously joking about the work Boston Dynamics are doing with robots will know that we’re very close to a tipping point. If you haven’t seen the Atlas humanoid robot in action, go and watch this now.

This video raises a whole lot of questions (including “is it right to bully robots?”), but what it’s got me thinking about isn’t robots. It’s people.

After watching Atlas in action, I went home and showed the clip to my 12-year-old son. “This,” I said, “is why you need to keep trying your hardest at school. If you’re not learning how to be a creative thinker and a clever problem solver, there might not be a lot of good jobs around when you grow up.”

Am I being paranoid? I don’t for a moment think we are a few short years away from robots doing everything, from stacking shelves to brewing coffee. But as their use increases, and as digital technology improves and simplifies areas like customer service, surely there will also be a decrease in available jobs? And because of the way our society currently operates, that means more and more people vying for the same reduced pool of work.

Some short-sighted companies will see that as a blessing. More competition allows them to keep wages down and keep workers compliant. Overheads go down, profits go up, right?

Maybe in the short term. But what starts to happen in a society where the pool of people who can afford what you’re selling starts to shrink? When the friends and families of the workers you replaced with machines start to shun your brand? When all the people who used to work in the industry you’ve cleverly disrupted start venting their feelings on social media?

Digital disruption. Robots. Driverless cars. We live in exciting times. But companies should never lose sight of the fact that they need customers who are happy to give them their money. The way your brand conducts itself in this brave new world is going to impact more than ever on your bottom line.

The future of work and the shift away from human labour is a hot topic for businesses. You’re probably already thinking about it in relation to employment and operations. Maybe it’s time to start thinking how your brand will handle it?