Posted on 11/13/2012 2:47:23 PM PST by Nachum
Foxconn has been planning to buy 1 million robots to replace human workers and it looks like that change, albeit gradual, is about to start.
The company is allegedly paying $25,000 per robot about three times a workers average salary and they will replace humans in assembly tasks. The plans have been in place for a while I spoke to Foxconn reps about this a year ago and it makes perfect sense. Humans are messy, they want more money, and having a half-a-million of them in one factory is a recipe for unrest. But what happens after the halls are clear of careful young men and women and instead full of whirring robots? What happens to Chinas burgeoning economy?
The original story is short on details but it seems that the robots will work alongside employees and not replace them outright although some crowding could occur.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
Robots don't sleep and can work 24/7, so the robot could replace multiple people, and pay for itself in a year or two.
Obamacare is like the minimum wage law on steroids as it pertains to replacing jobs with technology.
Butlerian Jihad.
Not at all. There were no robots there. My health took a turn for the worse and I couldn’t perform all the functions of that job.
Using more robots means that the overall cost of production goes down. This means that products can be sold cheaper to humans who are making less in service sector jobs.
If the world's population settles and then starts to go down a little, this might be OK. More and more robots making cheaper products for fewer low paid humans.
If, however, the population continues to increase for a while, then there will be too many unemployed people not making enough money to buy anything.
Going on the dole will be institutionalized around the world, and not just in places like the UK.
In the meantime, we have the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world, we are going to raise engery prices, and we are trying to raise labor rates with Obamacare.
Wait, isn’t this a good thing? Foxconn will no longer be exploiting its “slave labor”. The liberated workers can now become unemployed and dependent on government to survive. For liberals, that should be a wet dream come true.
If, however, the population continues to increase for a while, then there will be too many unemployed people not making enough money to buy anything.
Nah.
That certainly hasn't been the case with all the machines put to work since the dawn of the industrial age up until now. They have increased the standard of living across the board! So why would it be any different in the future?
More machines = greater efficiency = lower costs = lower prices = greater wealth (more output from less human work). This is basic capitalism here. It has increased wealth for all, and that rising water has clearly lifted all industrialized ships.
Can Robots commit suicide? Do Androids dream of electric MP3s?
And robots don’t vote Democrat.
I would have been glad to substitute robots for the 27 female humans I was forced to supervise the last time I had a job.
There was always something. On the one day there was not something of some substance, there would be a catfight over bullcrap.
Robots don’t need Obamacare.
Can’t wait to see the reaction of the Chinese luddites
do not come to work drunk,
I’ve seen it too many times, robots do occasionally drink on the job. You will, for some time to come, need human overseers for the robots. They suffer from stress and heat just like humans in a lot of ways
Do not require personal time.
Don't need paid vacations.
Do not need health insurance.
Won't get pregnant and...
Won't rob your organization blind.
Can Robots commit suicide?
I don’t know if you can call it suicide, but have seen robots damage themselves beyond what it would be wise to spend repairing them
No, I ain't googling it. Lousy reporting.
Foxconn makes most of the consumer electronics in the world — mostly in contract to some other company, like Apple
All this productivity (efficiency) you worship only result in more Obama voters. It is easy to connect the dots. So be prepared to have your taxes transferred (redistributed) to the armies of the unemployed and their baby mamas. My taxes too so long as Obama and Democrats rule
Progress and automation and computerization and robots cannot be stopped but anyone with a brain can see it is better to have more humans needed to make things and this is what America was like 20-30-40 years ago. In fact I am pretty sure FoxConn wanted to deploy more robots a while ago but was under pressure from Chinese Gov't to keep people employed. Chinese Gov't fears civil unrest from too many idle workers.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.