Technology is killing jobs. (applying, accountants, paid, borrow)
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Let me know when a robot can drive and deliver a UPS package to my door.
Not far off. The technology is there already. All that is needed is a little time and fine tuning. They are already using driverless trucks in Australia in the mining industry.
You really think it's going to take that long for this to catch on? These things are on the road today. If the technology gets cheap enough, which it will, it won't be long before businesses start realize their practical application. If a company is paying 40K for a worker, that means they are spending about 70-80K total. A driverless car would also be considered an investment for the business, and help during tax time, while a workers hours would be a strain at tax time.
And you'd be surprised how cheap robots are getting. The ones used in automated production facilities can be had for as cheap as 27K. Typically they are used to load parts and things of that nature. 27K, as a one time expense is cheaper than employing a $10/hr operator to do the same task. Even the illegal are finding themselves underbid...
So, they can automate the productions of the goods. They can pretty much automate the packing and picking process at the warehouse. They can automate the transportation of the packages themselves. I'm sure they can figure out a way to get the package in the hands of the end user. We'll likely see standardized drop off sites constructed in front of houses/apartment buildings to facilitate such an automated effort. Expensive, but so is the cost of employing an American. Question is, whose going to be ordering all these packages with no income to spend???
"Brick and mortar" is being replaced by "on-line commerce" all over the grid...
Some of it's good, some of it's sad.
I just know I really loved hanging out at the bookstore or going to the video store or music store. I miss the social interactions.
Yet I love the convenience of ordering on-line and it's at my door within days.
It's a mixed bag...
But yes, unless you've been living under a rock, many jobs are being lost to technology and outsourcing.
And many others have been created. I'm more self-employed than own my own business, but I did pay out around $20-30k last year in sourced labor. That's only one part-time job and some one-off gigs, but it's outsourcing creating jobs. Not to mention the fact that I earn my living solely because companies outsource.
In some cases, it's not so much the emergence of work-saving technology but the fact that the very business model is becoming obsolete. My city had a number of video stores that have mostly shuttered in the past five years. Why? Simply because Netflix, iTunes, Amazon.com Instant Video, etc. rendered them obsolete. Same with record stores. Music execs thought they had it all figured out with the "album model" of marketing, where Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Hanson, etc. would create a $15 CD that had one or two hit songs and the rest mediocre filler. Unfortunately for the music industry, those CDs were very easy to transfer to computer files or copy for friends. Now with legal downloads having been on the scene for several years, dedicated record shops have closed down and the CD selection at K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc. is thinning, although I have not heard anything about the same happening at pawn shops.
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sometimes i think that technology should just stop now...like this is enough..or maybe excel in something else like cure for diseases or something to do with health
i mean you can't miss what you never had or knew could exist
sometimes i think that technology should just stop now..
It won't no matter how folks feel. Mgmt bonuses, including mine, rise when operating profits rise, so technology is a means to an end. Lower labor costs per unit , retaining the same selling price, increases operating profits.
On a societal level, of course we hope new needs arise which would offset the reduced need for employees via technology, but honestly, robots and similar labor saving things like voice recognition, the last several years have reduced the need for labor far faster than new uses for labor have come to light.
Location: where people are either too stupid to leave or too stuck to move
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtn
It won't no matter how folks feel. Mgmt bonuses, including mine, rise when operating profits rise, so technology is a means to an end. Lower labor costs per unit , retaining the same selling price, increases operating profits.
On a societal level, of course we hope new needs arise which would offset the reduced need for employees via technology, but honestly, robots and similar labor saving things like voice recognition, the last several years have reduced the need for labor far faster than new uses for labor have come to light.
maybe one day all the robots will do ALL the work and we can all just sit at home..hopefully their AFI doesn't rise and we don't have a war of the worlds on our hand tho
Most jobs will be in danger of being replaced by automation or AI. Especially when adaptive AI comes on scene. AI will be designing and maintaining other AI. There will be few jobs not at risk. Not just labor or repetive jobs, but even 'thinking' type occupations will be replaced. Not all, but most. There will always be a need for policy makers and governance. Those who design the first few iterations of adaptive AI will be safe for a while, but eventually their creations will overtake even them.
In such a 'post-work' world, how will economies function? The business leaders drive the mkve toward automation to maximize efficiency and profit. But when the norm becomes high unemployment due to such advances, who will buy their products or services?
Most jobs will be in danger of being replaced by automation or AI. Especially when adaptive AI comes on scene. AI will be designing and maintaining other AI. There will be few jobs not at risk. Not just labor or repetive jobs, but even 'thinking' type occupations will be replaced. Not all, but most. There will always be a need for policy makers and governance. Those who design the first few iterations of adaptive AI will be safe for a while, but eventually their creations will overtake even them.
In such a 'post-work' world, how will economies function? The business leaders drive the mkve toward automation to maximize efficiency and profit. But when the norm becomes high unemployment due to such advances, who will buy their products or services?
What about service type jobs? Will we see robot plumbers? Or maybe piping techology will eliminate plumbing problems. That would be nice. I can't see the good old fashion barber or hairstylist going away. That would really suck. We would still need the human teachers.
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