Applying henna to hands is a long-standing tradition in India, usually performed by professional artists who spend hours creating beautiful patterns. However, a recent viral video on social media has raised questions about this practice. The clip shows a machine creating a henna design on a woman's hand. Businessman Harsh Goyanka shared this video with the comment: 'Some more jobs gone.'
A new discussion began after this post was published on social media. The question arose as to how much automation will affect people's employment in the future if machines start performing tasks that were previously done by humans.
In the viral video, a woman places her hand inside the machine, after which the apparatus begins applying a henna pattern to her skin. The machine demonstrates a high degree of detail, and no artist's presence is required for this process. This amazes people because traditionally, applying henna requires the master to account for the shape of the hand, the client's preferences, and the occasion. However, in the video, the machine performs this work independently.
By publishing the video, Harsh Goyanka emphasized that technology is now taking over another area that was previously the prerogative of human craftsmanship. He wrote: 'Some more jobs gone.'
Henna application is not just an ordinary job, especially during weddings when the demand for artists is very high. Creating various designs on a bride's hands takes a lot of time. An artist can also make changes to the design according to the client's wishes. A potential advantage of the appearance of machines may be the ability to quickly apply the same design to many people's hands while maintaining uniformity and delicacy of the drawing.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that the need for henna artists will disappear immediately. A person can adapt the design to a specific occasion using their experience. If the client wants a specific flower, name, or pattern, the artist can make adjustments in real-time, which is more difficult for a machine.
Harsh Goyanka's post received diverse feedback from social media users. Some acknowledged that the widespread use of such machines could negatively affect the incomes of people working in small fields. Others stated that they would prefer to have henna applied by a person rather than a machine. Especially before a wedding, women might be afraid to put their hands into a machine they have never used before. Some users also noted that henna done by hand possesses a special beauty; even small imperfections make it unique, whereas machine design may lack this human touch.
Another interesting question arose from this video. Some social media users claim that this video might have been generated by artificial intelligence rather than filmed on a real machine. Some users questioned the authenticity of the video based on the actions and method of operation of the machine shown in the clip. Currently, there is no independent confirmation that the video was created using AI.
The discussion about the henna application machine goes beyond just this service. A broader question is whether machines and AI will reduce human labor or if they will generate new types of employment. Creating these machines will require demand for engineers, designers, software experts, and technical specialists. Thus, although some old professions may shrink, new technologies are also capable of generating new jobs.
It is premature to say whether such machines can completely replace henna artists. However, Harsh Goyanka's video once again demonstrates how technology is gradually penetrating even those areas that were previously associated exclusively with human talent and manual skill.