Thread: Robots / Artificial Intelligence & our Jobs

I recall about 4-5 years ago Bill Gates talking about Artificial Intelligence and Robots being able to perform a variety of jobs that humans do.

Over the last year, I've seen more and more article and stories about "job automation" or....robots, being able to perform a variety of tasks. Even cooking.

Here is a story today of a bank beginning to use robots.

Point of the thread: technological innovation is interesting (to me as a casual observing laymen) and these advances seem to be increasing at a faster pace today.

But there will be people - possible millions of people losing their jobs through no fault of their own in the coming years.


Robots have enjoyed phenomenal success on the nation's factory floors. Now they've got their eye on banking.

Sterling Bank & Trust has "hired" two robots as greeters at the bank's new locations opening in Cupertino and Alhambra, in the Los Angeles area. As part of their training, the two robots have made appearances at the bank's San Francisco branches.

Credit for bringing the robots on board goes to the bank's owner, Scott Seligman of San Francisco-based Seligman & Associates.

Sterling Bank & Trust has "hired" robot greeters for some California locations (Video) - San Francisco Business Times

Effing silly. There are too many people in the world, many without jobs. The last thing the world needs is humanoid machines replacing humans.

Although sometimes my local workers could do with some artificial intelligence.

I wonder if robots can add 2 and 2 together at 7-11 without a calculator?

It really is an issue that governments seem loathed to get invoked with.
Jobs went off shore for cheap labor, millions left the fields for factories.
When robots are cheaper then the cheap labor [soon] where do you put your factories, what happens to the millions upon millions of factory workers in the 3 rd world.
Who buys the goods, it's places like China, India that are driving demand, there will be little demand if no one has a job.
Everyone can't flip burgers, someone has to pay for them.

Good news. Eliminate the prols.

Originally Posted by spliff

Good news. Eliminate the prols.

Spliff,

What is a "prol."

Here's a prediction. And of course, predictions are often inaccurate. But it's an interesting piece. As for the robot "Baxter" who can beat humans at connect four, we should send him to Pattaya.

Careers More: Robots Technology Future Machines
Experts predict robots will take over 30% of our jobs by 2025 — and white-collar jobs aren't immune

KATHLEEN ELKINS

MAY 1, 2015

About thirty robots waiters work at a dining hall on December 26, 2014 in Hefei, Anhui province of China. Getty Researchers anticipate that by 2029 robots will have reached human levels of intelligence.

There's a BakeBot robot whipping up fresh cookies at MIT; hospitals are now employing medical robots to assist their doctors; and a robot named Baxter can beat any human at the popular logic game Connect Four, among many other tasks.

"Historically what we thought was that robots would do things that were the three D's: dangerous, dirty, and dull," explains Ryan Calo, professor at University of Washington School of Law with an expertise in robotics. "Over time, the range of things that robots can do has extended."

Their abilities will only continue to expand. Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, anticipates that by 2029 robots will have reached human levels of intelligence.

Many people fear a jobless future — and their anxiety is not unwarranted: Gartner, an information technology research and advisory firm, predicts that one-third of jobs will be replaced by software, robots, and smart machines by 2025.

Read more: Experts predict that one third of jobs will be replaced by robots - Business Insider

Nothing new here. Machines have been replacing human labor for hundreds of years. Put lots of folks out of work and generated new jobs for many.

Welcome to the planned incremental reduction in population. One of many tools planned by the elites. All conspiracy, of course!

These morons who want $15 bucks an hour to flip burgers will soon see those jobs gone like the Dodo Bird.

Originally Posted by Norton

Nothing new here. Machines have been replacing human labor for hundreds of years. Put lots of folks out of work and generated new jobs for many.

True, Norton.

But what jobs will be generated by robots?

Maybe enough, maybe some, perhaps not enough.

I am starting to think (as Marx stated) that Capitalism will expand to a point where it's providing the same goods and services.

Originally Posted by Black Heart

But what jobs will be generated by robots?

Somebody has to service them. Someday even those jobs will be gone as well.

Automation technology will go on forever. Society must face this as a fact. Folks will lose jobs. Some may be retrainable, some will not. Reducing the number who will not or cannot be retrained is the key. Drastic changes to primary education and some sort of apprenticeship or "proper" skills training programs need to be established.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

These morons who want $15 bucks an hour to flip burgers will soon see those jobs gone like the Dodo Bird.

Yep there jobs will go, so will their managers jobs, personal jobs and on up the chain, death of the middle class jobs.
Left will be a few maintenance jobs, mostly unskilled, open the back, little light tells you which circuit board to replace.
Just look at Thailand, low wage nation, those low paid factory workers buy cars, big TVs, mobile phones, no work, no consumption of consumer goods.

This is unlike the industrial revolution and continued automation, then demand was growing for all the new technologies, machines from aircraft to vacuum cleaners.
Nothing new has come out since, say 1975, things have been refined, cars are still cars, computers are still computers, better yes, cheaper yes, but no new dawn off a great leap forward.

All in all, unless there is some plan 100s of millions of people will be jobless, that's a recipe for revolution.
Best hope, there is some new tech on a drawing board that will transform the world from industrial to who knows what.

I'll be OK, I'll get a job fixing the robots.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by Black Heart

But what jobs will be generated by robots?

Somebody has to service them. Someday even those jobs will be gone as well.

Automation technology will go on forever. Society must face this as a fact. Folks will lose jobs. Some may be retrainable, some will not. Reducing the number who will not or cannot be retrained is the key. Drastic changes to primary education and some sort of apprenticeship or "proper" skills training programs need to be established.

I think most agree with the changes needed in primary ed and apprenticeship and 'proper' skill and training programs.

Will this happen (now) or at the appropriate time - or will it lag behind?

Maintenance jobs? What makes you think robots won't perform maintenance/repairs on robots? Better than humans. Same for new robot design.

Capitalism is in its death throes. That much is obvious. A new system must be found.

Originally Posted by FlyFree

Maintenance jobs? What makes you think robots won't perform maintenance/repairs on robots? Better than humans. Same for new robot design.

Capitalism is in its death throes. That much is obvious. A new system must be found.

That's OK. I'll get a job fixing the robots that fix the robots.

Automation and robotics are fast approaching a point in their evolution where a great many people shouldn't need to work to support themselves, if we could take advantage of this and free ourselves from the need to work imagine what possibility would open up for humans. Sadly human evaluation can't keep up with technology and continues working against itself with the guys with all the money and power making it increasingly difficult for the lower echelons to aspire to anything of note or substance, whole countries are consigned to the trash bin as corporation set about raping their resources in their insane quest for bigger profits in what is already widely accepted as a fatally flawed economic system. If we're able to get over our greed and insecurities we might have a chance of actually enjoining and benefiting from these technological wonders, but human behaviour dictates that they will drag even more people into poverty.

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Originally Posted by spliff

Good news. Eliminate the prols.

Spliff,

What is a "prol."

Proletarian, member of the proletariat

Originally Posted by Perota

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Originally Posted by spliff

Good news. Eliminate the prols.

Spliff,

What is a "prol."

Proletarian, member of the proletariat

Thanks, Perota. (Meow.)

I'm such a ruffian for not knowing....or....perhaps I'm just too aristocratic.

Originally Posted by Perota

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Originally Posted by spliff

Good news. Eliminate the prols.

Spliff,

What is a "prol."

Proletarian, member of the proletariat

That would be a Prole then.

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Will this happen (now) or at the appropriate time - or will it lag behind?

Lag behind worse than we have in the past due to the acceleration of technology. We haven't learned much politically and socially since we moved through our development from hunter gatherers, to farming, to urbanites, to merchants, to nation states.

Since somebody figured a piece of wood shaped just right could plow a field faster, better and cheaper, folks have lost jobs. Back then probably less severe because technology change was much slower to spread. Now new technology spreads globally and is utilized in months rather than centuries as in ancient history.

We simply haven't a clue how to cope with it. Nor did our ancestors who were not stupid.

We are no smarter than they were. We just know more.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Will this happen (now) or at the appropriate time - or will it lag behind?

Lag behind worse than we have in the past due to the acceleration of technology. We haven't learned much politically and socially since we moved through our development from hunter gatherers, to farming, to urbanites, to merchants, to nation states.

Since somebody figured a piece of wood shaped just right could plow a field faster, better and cheaper, folks have lost jobs. Back then probably less severe because technology change was much slower to spread. Now new technology spreads globally and is utilized in months rather than centuries as in ancient history.

We simply haven't a clue how to cope with it. Nor did our ancestors who were not stupid.

We are no smarter than they were. We just know more.

Great post.

Seriously, have you studied this topic(s)?

Originally Posted by Black Heart

Seriously, have you studied this topic(s)?

Just lots of history. Amazing stuff. Too bad our fearless leaders continue doing the same things that didn't work in the past expecting a different result now.