Posted on 06/06/2016 3:04:31 PM PDT by plain talk
As we reach the middle of the 21st century, half the population of the world will lose their job to a machine. The latest comes from Moshe Vardi, professor at Rice University , Houston, who delivered a talk to the American Association for the Advancement of Science , exploring the question: "If machines are capable of doing almost any work humans can do, what will humans do?"
Vardi reckons that half of workers across the globe will be replaced by machines within the next 30 years, wiping out middle-class jobs and "exacerbating inequality". He noted that robots would take over in many spheres of life, including automated driving and sex robots. As the Guardian reports, he also observed that this future is likely to mean humans have much more leisure time — indeed we may only work a handful of hours per week.
(Excerpt) Read more at economictimes.indiatimes.com ...
When humans kill their own kids for being inconvenient, Skynet deciding to kill humans before they deactivated it for being inconvenient if not terrifying was a reasonable decision.
Picture a world in the stewardship of a small population of educated, intelligent humans who live mostly a life of leisure and scholarship, clocking in only occasionally to keep the machines running.
This is the future.
We are quickly approaching a present where 80% of the population, billions of people, mostly illiterate and uneducated, are unemployable and will be rendered useless.
How we get there from here won't be pretty. And it won't end well for a lot of people.
And hopefully building infrastructure for the bottom billions. The irony of the 800 million who have cell phone access but not regular clean running water, and the 1-2 billion who have irregular electricity but no wastewater disposal.
It would not be unreasonable to say if you can’t function and contribute and/or just want to live off the dole, sterilization.
Population easily drops in half in many major cities, from sterilization of those who take the dole and many workers choosing to have just one kid.
You bring out sex-bots, and there are a billion men who will choose that over a wife, especially if he can have a maid-bot clean and maintain the home.
Population will drop by more than half in a single generation.
The irony being that the religious who refuse that type of technology will still breed, and the future depends on who shows up.
End result - more religious future, more likely the Butlerian Jihad situation someone mentioned earlier, in order to preserve the population.
Or you get religious communities copying the Amish model, divorcing from modern incredibly sinful life. And they remain in existence because they still have two kids, in a world where many have none and lifestyle pressure is only one.
Polygamy with a stay at home spouse still leads to reduced population, because a stay at home parent with four spouses isn’t likely to raise five kids to replace all the adults but raise two or so.
By 2045 I will be just about dead so, oh well!
Hey, I resemble that remark!
well we will always have cockroaches, politicians and hookers, but then I repeat myself...
The synths like reduced population. They don’t have to use force to bring us to the optimum level.
I need to do more on the future of religion. You make interesting points.
I’d read it!
I don’t read him or her. I usually do go somewhere else. My word docs. But this is a subject which interests me. Sorry my ideas repulse you. I did not say I preferred this future, but I think it may be logical.
There was a guy on BookTv about 2 years ago who has a book out on artificial intelligence. His premise is that when robots can design intelligent robots, they will surpass us and not need us. I wonder what you think the future of AI is?
I remember reading of a scientific study of rats in limited quarters. All their needs were met, plenty of food, water and toys. At first, the rats thrived and were friendly with each other. More and more rats were introduced while others reproduced. As it got crowded, rats began fighting, raping and stealing from other rats. It did not end well, and they were all miserable. I don't know if this means anything for us as humans, it could just mean they didn't have religion and proper family values and got spoiled by welfare mismanagement. If we have the right leaders (meaning not leftist liberals), we could have a nice metro life in 2022.
My nephew just graduated from HS with Engineering focus and going to tech college. You gave your boy some good advice in my opinion.
Me love you long time.
Nah. Any cost savings for the consumer will be replaced by taxes. It’s just too tempting for the govt.
Another possibility is many more people, rather than less.
Given enough energy, robots could build and operate vast underground, undersea, and outer space cities with hydroponic gardens.
If it became very cheap to live, it would be that much cheaper to raise another kid.
Governments might seek to compete by creating vast clone armies.
Bet we’ll have robots to also take care of that!
Gone will be jobs for unskilled people or lower skilled people - fast food cashiers, "cooks" will be automated heavily (Mc D's would run with just about 2 or 3 people), most stores will be heavily automated - I'm thinking of RFIDs everywhere and sensors detecting when an item on the shelf is out of stock and it being replenished automatically from the back-room or an order placed to the Distribution center or to the manufacturer
Banks will be like in Sweden - cash dead with no cash on the premises. Fewer bank branches -- everything by card, online or by phone.
so banks, stores and fast-food places automated.
Many IT services jobs will be eliminated -- I'm predicting that 75% of jobs worldwide will be gone in IT integration: who needs this when you can buy components off the cloud or connect different cloud components together.
Plumbers and electricians will still be needed, I don't see this being replaced by machines. Ditto for nurses, doctors etc. -- they will be enhanced by machines but not replaced. THis will mean that only the best will survive
The net result is that in every industry it will be like the acting industry -- the best will do very well and be enhanced by automation, but the mediocre will be out of jobs everywhere.
This will cause massive social problems - and welfare will only exacerbate it.
Education needs to change -- there is no point of higher education for many and schools need to be changed back to the strict educational level of the 1950s. If you can't do higher-level robotics or software engineering, then a plumbing skill set is to be valued. There is nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty.
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