4 ms·

What will make local's immune from being replaced by robots. Why this should affect only immigrants?

Kadin 10y ago
When it starts affecting people who vote, they'll start to push back and you'll get either Keynesian economic stimulus (we'll pay you to dig a hole and fill it back in again), or regulation that makes automation more difficult (e.g. French-style job protections). Put in a policy saying that anyone whose job gets eliminated or reduced as the result of automation is eligible for half-pay and full pension benefits until they have a new job at an equivalent salary and suddenly the business case for robots wouldn't be nearly so strong. And people will be pushing for stuff like that if they feel that their jobs, rather than some Polish guy's, is at risk. Migrants, by and large, don't vote, so you can automate their jobs away without incurring regulatory risk to yourself, if you are a large organization. It's the safe place to start.
- rmvt 10y ago
  > When it starts affecting people who vote, they'll start to push back i'm not sure it works this way...
- bjelkeman-again 10y ago
  The the UK really could do with some infrastructure investments [2013,2016] (dig the holes, don't fill em in again). I hope they use that Keynesian opportunity wisely, but I am afraid they won't. Having lived in the UK for a long time I then would despair at the crappy infrastructure compared to other norther European countries. 2016: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21693936-government-trumpets-its-ambitions-roads-railways-and-airports-fact-infrastructure http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21693936-government-tr... 2013: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21573129-why-britain-doesnt-build-bunged-up http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21573129-why-britain-d...
losteric 10y ago
Part of the justification for current anti-immigrant sentiment, and Brexit, boils down to "they took our jobs!" More accurately: Immigrants did jobs that citizens were unwilling to do for market rates. The market hasn't changed. Low-cost labor is still required, and robots will fill those roles. If anything, I'd be worried about a net reduction in jobs as a result of removing immigrants... smaller businesses that lack the capital for automated labor may themselves priced out of business trying to employee citizens. At this point good creative work is probably the closest thing to automation immunity, as well as patient-facing healthcare (ie nurses)... for the rest of us education and experience is the only job security we have.
- Firadeoclus 10y ago
  If the supply of labour changes because potential immigrants stay away then the market has certainly changed. Market rates are not fixed.
- CM30 10y ago
  Part of me simply says "Good. If your business can't afford to pay a living wage to its employees and depends on exploiting poorer people to keep going... well perhaps it doesn't deserve to stay open." I mean, it's clearly not a sustainable business for the number of employees you're hiring, in the same way a cheap coffee or meal made affordable by sweatshop or slave labour isn't a sustainable deal. Either way, if you can't afford to hire someone at a decent wage (or in some cases, even minimum wage), then you don't hire them. You find a new business to get into or do as much as you can yourself or through contractors.

Kadin 10y ago

When it starts affecting people who vote, they'll start to push back and you'll get either Keynesian economic stimulus (we'll pay you to dig a hole and fill it back in again), or regulation that makes automation more difficult (e.g. French-style job protections). Put in a policy saying that anyone whose job gets eliminated or reduced as the result of automation is eligible for half-pay and full pension benefits until they have a new job at an equivalent salary and suddenly the business case for robots wouldn't be nearly so strong. And people will be pushing for stuff like that if they feel that their jobs, rather than some Polish guy's, is at risk. Migrants, by and large, don't vote, so you can automate their jobs away without incurring regulatory risk to yourself, if you are a large organization. It's the safe place to start.

rmvt 10y ago
> When it starts affecting people who vote, they'll start to push back i'm not sure it works this way...
bjelkeman-again 10y ago
The the UK really could do with some infrastructure investments [2013,2016] (dig the holes, don't fill em in again). I hope they use that Keynesian opportunity wisely, but I am afraid they won't. Having lived in the UK for a long time I then would despair at the crappy infrastructure compared to other norther European countries. 2016: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21693936-government-trumpets-its-ambitions-roads-railways-and-airports-fact-infrastructure http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21693936-government-tr... 2013: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21573129-why-britain-doesnt-build-bunged-up http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21573129-why-britain-d...

losteric 10y ago

Part of the justification for current anti-immigrant sentiment, and Brexit, boils down to "they took our jobs!" More accurately: Immigrants did jobs that citizens were unwilling to do for market rates. The market hasn't changed. Low-cost labor is still required, and robots will fill those roles. If anything, I'd be worried about a net reduction in jobs as a result of removing immigrants... smaller businesses that lack the capital for automated labor may themselves priced out of business trying to employee citizens. At this point good creative work is probably the closest thing to automation immunity, as well as patient-facing healthcare (ie nurses)... for the rest of us education and experience is the only job security we have.

Firadeoclus 10y ago
If the supply of labour changes because potential immigrants stay away then the market has certainly changed. Market rates are not fixed.
CM30 10y ago
Part of me simply says "Good. If your business can't afford to pay a living wage to its employees and depends on exploiting poorer people to keep going... well perhaps it doesn't deserve to stay open." I mean, it's clearly not a sustainable business for the number of employees you're hiring, in the same way a cheap coffee or meal made affordable by sweatshop or slave labour isn't a sustainable deal. Either way, if you can't afford to hire someone at a decent wage (or in some cases, even minimum wage), then you don't hire them. You find a new business to get into or do as much as you can yourself or through contractors.