Here’s another one of your least favorite people on the same subject. I suggest a steel cage death match with a robot ref:
“Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates isn’t going to sugarcoat things: The increasing power of automation technology is going to put a lot of people out of work. Business Insider reports that Gates gave a talk at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, DC this week and said that both governments and businesses need to start preparing for a future where lots of people will be put out of work by software and robots.
“Software substitution, whether it’s for drivers or waiters or nurses… it’s progressing,” Gates said. “Technology over time will reduce demand for jobs, particularly at the lower end of skill set… 20 years from now, labor demand for lots of skill sets will be substantially lower. I don’t think people have that in their mental model.”
As for what governments should do to prevent social unrest in the wake of mass unemployment, the Microsoft cofounder said that they should basically get on their knees and beg businesses to keep employing humans over algorithms. This means perhaps eliminating payroll and corporate income taxes while also not raising the minimum wage so that businesses will feel comfortable employing people at dirt-cheap wages instead of outsourcing their jobs to an iPad.
http://bgr.com/2014/03/14/bill-gates-interview-robots/
Bill "The Gorilla" Gates versus Steve "Ratman" Rattner
Fight to the Finish, San Jose Civic Auditorium!
In that past, the life cycle of a job was often at least long enough that a person's career might coincide with its birth and death. In the near future (if not now), people will be in a constant state of education for new jobs and specialties as old ones die and new ones are created.
I have to agree. I spent almost 35 years in a Tier I automotive stamping plant and the evolution of the production processes replacing production workers with robotics over those years could be viewed as nothing short of miraculous and a testament to knowledge, engineering and imagination.
Anybody who has never been inside such a plant or one of the big 3 auto assembly plants should take a tour if they are available........
I recently read an article of an old lady who celebrated her 115th birthday and I am in awe of what she has personally witnessed in her lifetime. From a horse and buggy being the primary transportation when she was a child to the wonderous technology we have available today......