More Robots, Less Jobs?

[Lainey]

Heard a lecture on c-span by Martin Ford, author of The Rise of the Robots - Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Basically he's saying a) it's happening faster than we think - projections are that 30% - 50% of jobs could be eliminated in the next two decades and replaced by technology, and b) he means middle-class jobs, not the factory jobs that have already gone. Very sobering, and he's not hysterical or into sci-fi, it's really happening.

Also happened to read a short article in THE WEEK dated June 26 in which he is also quoted. He said that in China, "tens of millions of factory workers are now increasingly being displaced by machines with significant consequences for China's economy - and the world's." He also said Foxconn, a Chinese company which makes products for Apple, Sony, and Microsoft "will automate 70% of its factory work within 3 years." Ford thinks China will face a "staggering challenge" as it becomes ground zero for the robot revolution because they're already struggling to employ their college graduates.

I have not yet read Ford's book but he thinks one outcome of this robot revolution may be that we will have to decouple income from having a job in order for people to just stay alive. A whole new paradigm, very interesting.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Heard a lecture on c-span by Martin Ford, author of The Rise of the Robots - Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Basically he's saying a) it's happening faster than we think - projections are that 30% - 50% of jobs could be eliminated in the next two decades and replaced by technology, and b) he means middle-class jobs, not the factory jobs that have already gone. Very sobering, and he's not hysterical or into sci-fi, it's really happening.

Also happened to read a short article in THE WEEK dated June 26 in which he is also quoted. He said that in China, "tens of millions of factory workers are now increasingly being displaced by machines with significant consequences for China's economy - and the world's." He also said Foxconn, a Chinese company which makes products for Apple, Sony, and Microsoft "will automate 70% of its factory work within 3 years." Ford thinks China will face a "staggering challenge" as it becomes ground zero for the robot revolution because they're already struggling to employ their college graduates.

I have not yet read Ford's book but he thinks one outcome of this robot revolution may be that we will have to decouple income from having a job in order for people to just stay alive. A whole new paradigm, very interesting.I wonder what that would look like, Lainey, decoupling income from having a job, and what positives there would be in that for us all. As i'm getting older the books on the bucket list are becoming more important to me - an example would be A Tale Of Two Cities. I find myself wondering in a world with less work would there be more time for more of what i consider noble endeavors - such as going to museums, reading, volunteering, etc. Or would it be a horrible fear filled grind, or some mix of the two?

I am a big believer that not too far off there will be fewer servers at restaurants - replaced by tablets that make ordering quicker and with less human interaction. Of course we are all hearing about driverless cars not too far off and i have even heard of pilotless planes. Computer kiosks replacing attorneys for legal help, doctors functions getting more replaced by technology, the list goes on and on and on. But I wonder will there be an upside to this for the human race, and what can we realistically do to have a better shot at an upside? Rob

[bae]

The Midas Plague, Frederic Pohl

http://ihavebook.org/books/download/pdf/536630/the-midas-plague.pdf