Just like a sudden gust of wind, the tech world often sends us into a whirlwind debate - where exactly does the human workforce belong in the AI-powered cosmos we're weaving? One school of thought is that our robotic counterparts will nab every job in sight, leaving just a few select roles behind for us mere mortals. Yet, even the tech magnate Marc Andreessen doubts that his investor duties could ever be wholly taken over by AI.

The alternative theory, supported by historical data, is that bots will shoulder the tedious, not-so-pleasant tasks. Essentially our robotic allies will help us out while we pioneer exciting new roles birthed from this AI revolution. The World Economic Forum foresees 92 million jobs being relocated due to technological trends, but they also anticipate a whopping 170 million new jobs emerging from it.

But let's talk about those who don't possess the economic muscle or the intellectual zest to bag a Master's degree in AI and machine learning. What's in store for those who currently occupy lesser-skilled roles, such as warehouse workers, in this AI-rich future?

Amazon may have given us a glimpse into it. On Wednesday, they announced significant strides toward swapping warehouse workers for robots, primarily thanks to their latest techno marvel - the touch-sensitive Vulcan Robot. CEO Andy Jassy shared how Vulcan's ability to handle physically challenging tasks is making workplaces safer while also helping workers acquire new skills in robot maintenance.

In their blog post, Amazon elaborated on how Vulcan will cooperate with humans, retrieving items from the tallest and shortest warehouse shelves, thus sparing humans from the drudgery of ladder-climbing and squatting. Humans would only need to gather items situated in the middle or the ones that Vulcan couldn't navigate around. Simultaneously, Amazon is schooling a handful of warehouse workers into trained robot technicians who will step in for more of the warehouse picking tasks.

Unbelievably, these dexterous robots now have a hand in fulfilling 75% of customer orders, creating numerous job categories at Amazon, including robotic floor monitoring to maintenance engineering. Amazon bolsters some workers to acquire these robotic maintenance skills through its job retraining program.

Of course, it's unrealistic to expect a factory of humans supervising these robots just like their presence is essential in doing warehouse orders directly. Not everyone is cut out, or even interested, to morph into robot mechanics. Yet, Amazon openly talking about its retraining program alongside Vulcan's announcement is something to mull over.

The AI-powered, 'Robots-At-Work' future for the working-class is still a fuzzy portrait with hardly any concrete evidence. One cheeky AI startup founder even aired out to TechCrunch that maybe humans would just have to settle for government handouts in a world dominated by automatons. But perhaps, we might see "automation monitors" replacing grocery clerks and bot supervisors replacing fast-food cooks. Adapting to operating robots might become as common as knowing how to use a PC - a vital employment criterion.

However, this might just be a tech mirage. The luxury of employing bots might still stay exclusive to giant corporations with deep pockets, like Amazon or automotive manufacturers. In most retail, restaurant, or driving occupations, humans could still potentially hold the reins for a few more decades.

Don't forget, Amazon, despite its relentless attempts at vending its 'just-walk-out' Amazon Go tech to the wider retail/grocery business, faced a cold shoulder. The retail sector, threatened by Amazon's unstoppable growth, was unenthusiastic. More so when they discovered the touted tech relied on humans in India watching and labeling videos, leading to Amazon curtailing its usage later. Today, such technology from Amazon or others is barely seen out in the wild.