Posted on 12/10/2014 1:05:31 PM PST by giant sable
The technologies of the past, by replacing human muscle, increased the value of human effort – and in the process drove rapid economic progress. Those of the future, by substituting for man’s senses and brain, will accelerate that process – but at the risk of creating millions of citizens who are simply unable to contribute economically, and with greater damage to an already declining middle class.
(Excerpt) Read more at hbr.org ...
They already have. Think anyone wields a spot welder on a sheet metal line in Detroit or any other auto assembly plant? Amazon’s warehouses use robots to transport goods as well.
That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis:
Ransom replied, “Sulva is she whom mortals call the Moon. She walks in the lowest sphere. Half of her orb is turned towards us and shares our curse. On this side the womb is barren and the marriages cold. There dwell an accursed people, full of pride and lust. There when a man takes a maiden in marriage they do not lie together, but each lies with a cunningly fashioned image of the other, made to move and to be warm by devilish arts, for real flesh will not please them, they are so dainty (delicate) in their dreams of lust. Their real children they fabricate by vile arts in a secret place.”
Or when they are so inexpensively manufactured that no one bothers to repair them? (like cellphones and other electronic products.)
What a coincidence. I was watching it just last night.
This has been previously considered.
what happens when people only want to see robots doing boxing?
I’m beginning to suspect that its last act of creative destruction will be self-destruction.
You and me both. This is a question I have long pondered, but I have mostly addressed my speculation to the issue of robot killing machines.
We are going to reach a point where they can build humanoid robots which will be incredibly lethal. They will have the speed and reflexes to shoot you a millisecond after your head has emerged from around a corner. Imagine the fastest gun in the west with utterly unfailing accuracy.
No human soldier would be able to stand against such a thing on an equal basis, and when the totalitarians don't have to worry about human ethics in their super soldiers, things could get very ugly indeed.
So far most of them seem to be busy and I've not heard that wages are dropping as I would normally expect with increased competition. Although I have noticed some professional building contractors have gone down and the category of "handymen" has grown.
With manufacturing trending more towards robotic implementation, I first thought that there would be a growing segment of warehousing and distribution. But, Amazon seems to be single handedly proving that ain't so.
More and more it's looking like the only tasks robots can't advance quickly at are picking vegetable can fruit crops and senior comfort and hospice care. Another one might be personal trainers.
In some of the Isamov writings robots had become the most HATED minority for the most part.
I do not envision a time in which Robot boxing would be popular. I think it is the idea that people can see themselves as being represented by a boxer that gives many people their interest in the sport. It is a contest between competing wills and skills.
With Robots, you wouldn't have that. Besides, they would be capable of moving too fast to really see much of the fight. It might be a novelty for awhile, but I don't see such a thing lingering.
Robot hamburger factory makes 360 Gourmet Burgers every hour...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3100817/posts
Everything turns to sh*t.
Why do you have to always bring Al Sharpton into the discussion?
Robots cannot replace all jobs, and won’t for a long time.
The Great Shift Toward Automation and the Future of Employment
http://tamarawilhite.hubpages.com/hub/The-Great-Shift-and-the-Future-of-Employment
The question eventually leads to what constitutes a purposeful life, as well as it’s meaning. “I discovered the meaning of life a couple weeks ago, but forgot to write it down.” Guess I’ll have to make do with the biblical texts.
The need for skilled workers grows, and because the price of goods and services no longer require as much time and money, they go down in price and thus, people have more time and money to put towards improving their skills.
One of Ayn Rand’s students addressed the idea of automation threatening the livelihood of workers in “The Divine Right of Stagnation”. He essentially proved that the only workers who need to fear automation are the ones too lazy to improve themselves and arrogant enough to believe that the rest of us should be held back because of that laziness.
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