A story that appeared on The Associated Press wire service said Americans are gloomy about the future. Many reasons were given, but one of those reasons was surprising at first.

Many Americans think our future will be ruled by robots by 2050 because robots will displace Americans from jobs they traditionally have held. There may be some truth to that because more and more production lines need fewer and fewer people as robotic arms, hands and other means to place parts are used for jobs that formerly were held by humans.

We have to realize it took humans to dream up these robotic production line parts and it took humans to install them.

We may have to become smarter and better educated to fit into the world of the future. That could be a good thing for some Pearl River County youngsters. They are members Team CHAOS, a team of high school students from across the county that competes in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology program. The team, whose members change yearly as some graduate from high school, builds a robot with which it competes in competitions regionally, nationally and even internationally.

Team CHAOS has gone to world competition four times, said Maureen Pollitz, the faculty adviser/mentor. The team now takes high school age youngsters from any high school in the county and home-schooled students, she said.

Those high school students aren’t the only ones building robots. Pollitz also advises and mentors a Lego robotics team of 4-6th grade youngsters at Nicholson Elementary School.

If the world becomes ruled by robots in a 2050 version of all the science fiction stories that have been written for well more than 100 years, these Pearl River County youngsters will be among those making science reality out of what was previously just a good read.