Posted on 01/26/2015 7:22:08 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The world’s first robotized sales assistants were rolled out last month in California. They are nifty, cute — and terrifying.
Nicknamed OSHbots, the two machines cost $50,000 apiece, are five feet of plastic on wheels and carry built-in natural language processors, computers, product scanners and navigation tools.
Named after the Orchard Supply Hardware store where they work in San Jose, they greet customers, ask if they need help, identify items, then offer to guide them to the appropriate aisle without bumping into anyone or anything.
At night, they do inventory by cruising the store to identify missing products and update their store map. The OSHbots will never ask for a raise or call in sick. They also have the recall of a National Merit Scholar, but, on the other hand, they can’t open a box or climb a ladder to reach a hammer. And if you went up to one and shouted “fire,” it would respond that “fire extinguishers are on aisle 4 and I can take you there” . . . in English or Spanish.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
People will destroy robots with abandon—Rob them and take what they want—Not a good idea—like Communism—looks good on paper only.
I’ve gravitated rather quickly to the self-checkout kiosks in most of the places where I shop—I’m much more efficient than the individuals that are paid to do it; I don’t make mistakes; and I don’t stop during the process to talk to a co-worker or answer my cell phone.
Similarly, I patronize pay-at-the-pump gas stations and use my credit union’s ATM for my financial transactions (no fees for members). I don’t do fast food.
In all, anywhere I can eliminate human interaction, I do. It’s much faster and far less aggravating.
A big part of what makes now so interesting/ scary is that the supply of good to the supply of labor curve is about to take a big leap. We’re getting to a point where the labor needed to provide all the goods we need is less than half the population, and possibly accelerating WAY past that. Which brings up the question of just what are we going to do with all those people that we quite simply don’t need to have jobs? Answering that question correctly should lead to a greatly increased standard of living, but finding that answer is going to be a challenge.
Yes, but fewer.
There is ALWAYS big change on the employment landscape. My eye doctor has had a device for years that measures the eye and determines the proper corrective lenses. It is not a far step to walk up to a kiosk, look in, and have the proper lenses at the pharmacy counter, or delivered to my door. Body scans can determine illness and health problems. Look at the computers on cars - plug in the computer and find out what is wrong. Look at the automation in car manufacture. Robotics in surgery is doing amazing things.
The only constant in life is change.
This robot replaces several shifts.
My Home Depot store is open 101 hours per week. A bit over 5200 hours per year if you exclude holiday closings. If the cost of having a human there is $10/hour, the robot pays for itself the first year, and it will continue to run for several years.
And to get the check, they will have to submit to sterilization, so that, after a few generations, only the humans that produce value will be around.
Think of it as evolution in action.
I had an uncle who used to sell commercial freezers to grocery stores. One of his biggest obstacles was the fact that the people who owned these stores were just TOO DAMNED CHEAP to buy his product. They’d scour the secondary market looking for cheaper used ones, and would only invest in his product as a last resort.
If the question here is $15/hr. wage vs. $50K upfront outlay for a piece of equipment, I think I know on which side these guys will come down. You can always cut the hours of your employee. Can’t renegotiate your $50K capital equipment loan.
How can a robot replace a government employee unless its programmed to goof off?
The jobs won’t all go away, because too many people want tasks done by other people.
The Great Shift Toward Automation and the Future of Employment
http://tamarawilhite.hubpages.com/hub/The-Great-Shift-and-the-Future-of-Employment
And wait until it gets hacked to hawk the competitor’s products.
Choice is good? Surely you don’t mean *all* choice? For example,how can the choice of only the two major parties be good?
So, I can buy a fleet of them for a couple of million dollars, they work from open to close without complaint, never call in sick, or hungover, or because "it's too snowy out". They don't have maternity leave, or benefits, or comp time, or vacation. They automatically track all inventory in the store, know immediately where it is, and can automatically order more when needed. Checkout capabilities, for all of these devices, would be a simple add-on.
And, a front-line tech to service these robots costs about $15/hour, or the same salary as the higher-minimum-wage proponents are agitating for.....
I gotta tell ya, people screaming for higher minimum wages need to be careful for what they ask for. They just might get it.
Yep. They’ll need guys like me.....Blade Runners.
“Retiring Robots Is Our Business”
You can tell it is an independent amateur job but whoever did it can present a good issue and asks good questions about automation replacing jobs.
it is worth your time to watch it.
There is a TV series called "Black Mirror"... It is sorta like a British version of the Twilight Zone set in the near future and deals with issues that are coming about due to the fallout of the digital revolution. One story had a class of people who supported themselves by riding exercise bikes that generated power and was hooked into the power grid and they got paid for their work. An interesting prospect.
Not sure of the viability but it was interesting that they literally spent their work day riding an exercise bike and watching their screens and they had to pay for certain popular programs others were free. AND TO NOT WATCH commercials that interrupted the program and your screen feed you had to pay credits to do so.
It is still better than, say, only having the 'choice' of the communist party.
Goldwater and Reagan changed the Republican party. Perhaps Cruz and Walker can change it again.
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