RIO DE JANEIRO — The elevator attendants are under no illusion: Their days are numbered.

Yet the few thousand operators in Rio de Janeiro who have clung on to their jobs well into the 21st century are hoping the forces of automation won’t entirely obliterate their trade, at least for a few more years.

“You’re never bored,” said Roselia da Conceição, 53, as she ferried passengers up and down a 23-story building in downtown Rio de Janeiro one morning, commanding her bouncy elevator from a tall stool.

“Because you’re always talking and interacting with people, you learn a lot and you create a type of intimacy,” she said.