Security Guards

42% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

User poll

Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Security Guards' was $37,070, or $17 per hour

'Security Guards' were paid 22.9% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

Comments

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Pablo (No chance) 3 months ago

As of today, there is no robot capable of performing any intervention while respecting human rights and taking the surrounding situation into account. The human factor is essential in this type of work.

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Angel (Low) 5 months ago

Security guards also include or at least SHOULD include SPOs ( special police officers). Campus police, and armed security, and Asset Protection, and armor car security. Security isn’t just mall cops. Also security for executives and or famous people.

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AIspongebobfan (Uncertain) 5 months ago

Security Guards need a physical person for most positions, for example, at concerts, they need people on the site to manage the crowds. Once there are robots that can be deployed, for the most part, physical Security Guards are safe.

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Santa (Low) 5 months ago

I hardly doubt AI can handle security, to be honest. There are too many variables. Security will most likely replace the police due to cost issues.

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Peter (Low) 5 months ago

In terms of armed security legally there still has to be a person behind the gun. Also security guards do a lot of legal writing that requires human perception to understand social nuances. Also machines are patterned humans are not so it’s easier to trick and hack robots.

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Bartholomew Smith (Low) 6 months ago

There will be automations that augment security guards but the reality is that when working with humans you need to expect a certain level of violence. A security robot will get smashed to bits by a homeless person for fun. Maybe a few teens will vandalize it for the sake of it. ect. These may work with an already docile population but do you think that these things won't be ruined within days on the streets of Rio, Mexico City, New York, Mumbai ect?

Automated security cameras don't stop people stealing from self checkouts.

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Daniel (Low) 6 months ago

Security will be more important in the future, and security guards are cheaper than police

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TTFREC_) I (Highly likely) 8 months ago

Personally, I think this will be taken away by robots because I think all jobs will be taken by robots. Now, this will make us unable to work and unable to get jobs and make money. This will be unsettling because we will not have food and we will all be homeless.

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Nico Cione (Highly likely) 9 months ago

I really want a cool-looking robocop everywhere.

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09 (Low) 1 year ago

Sure Robots and technology plays a big role nowadays in security but the prevention is still a thing hard for robots to be replaced by.

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W Jones (No chance) 1 year ago

6 Years as security supervisor for high capacity venues - There is no chance within the next 20 years automation will replace human stewards or security, they simply will not handle the physical and social demands.

Even in static position roles I.E. Manned security boothes/checkpoints, security agents are expected to fulfill multiple roles (First aid, emergency response, deterrant, etc.). In more active roles, this is also compounded by the need for mobility and flexibility of roles; at one moment a person may be directing foot traffic and then asked to re-position and hand out water at the pit barrier or assist in the escort of persons off the premises.

Summary - Security guards won't be replaced any time soon as it would take simply far too many automated systems and be far more expensive only to leave members of the public with an impersonal machine who cannot as easily respond to their needs in the moment.

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Ruben Castellanos 1 year ago

Empathy , social skills and human touch is required in order to be a good guard. People will see the robots as mechanized garbage bins and proceed to ignore or damage the equipment.

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Don’t think so 1 year ago

It will be a bad day when Robots are allowed to start going hands on against humans. It will change everything in a bad way.

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Nico (Highly likely) 1 year ago

I believe it's highly likely because most people don't trust human security guards.

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Mike Scorpio 1 year ago

High-skill security, such as hospital, diplomatic, and corporate protection, will most likely never be replaced.

However, low-skill security, such as low-paying observe-and-report jobs, will be automated.

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Joe (Low) 1 year ago

Security guards aren't going anywhere anytime soon. There are comments here saying how they could get an Atlas robot to do it, but they cost a quarter of a million dollars to produce, and that's not including maintenance.

I could see alarm systems and maybe security cameras replacing guards in some businesses, but not in 90% of places. Most robbers or thieves don't want to kill anyone and, for that reason, they will not get rid of security guards.

Human guards create an extra barrier that makes these crimes much more difficult to get away with.

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Joey 2 years ago

What some people don't recognize is how fast technology is growing especially with AI robots and how fast these robots are learning human capabilities and human ways. true, robots are not all the way capable of performing like humans but in just a few short years, it is over for tons of jobs from blue collar to white collars.

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megacide84 (No chance) 2 years ago

Unless security bots and drones become fully armed and programmed to "shoot to kill," which won't happen for very obvious reasons (i.e. hacking and swatting), there will always be a need for human security personnel.

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Rei (Low) 2 years ago

While a robot can sweep the premises and scan the area for any inconsistencies, humans are still needed to make judgments. For example, if there is an armed robbery, the human guard can prioritize either the safety of the workers (other humans) or the safety of the place. Humans also rely on robots for safety, but with hacking being possible from far away to take control, and electrical interference being able to cause robots to short-circuit, humans are still the better option.

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SS (Highly likely) 3 years ago

It's not even just likely. It's already happening. Look at Knight Scope. Once it becomes affordable to make Boston Dynamics level robots? Game over.

This will probably happen sooner than 20 years. Especially once they get self driving cars scalable and mass adopted.

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