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You focused on explaining how many everyday objects could be described as robots, but you left out any discussion of the phrase "taken over."

by baddox 9y ago

jaggederest 9y ago
I mean it simply, many of our major life activities are now intermediated by robots. Logistics, manufacturing, farming, transportation, media and entertainment, etc. How long has it been since most people have hand-written a letter?
- Retra 9y ago
  I feel like people are confusing the meaning of "taken over" because it means both "outnumbers" and "controls". Electronic messages outnumber paper letters, but humans still control both.
  - jaggederest 9y ago
    Well, I mean it in the sense that, if you turned off all of the microprocessors, what would still function? Almost nothing. Ergo everything that would die is "taken over" fully by automation, in a way that should concern people but not terrify them.
austinjp 9y ago
When I stay in a hotel, the receptionist's job is to stand nearby while I type my reservation details into a panel. When I pay at the supermarket, the checkout person's job is to stand nearby in case I have trouble with the self-checkout machine. When I walk through the gates on the metro, the assistant's job is to stand nearby in case the tap-to-pay machine malfunctions. When I stand on the rail platform, I grit my teeth when the automated tannoy announces "sincere apologies" for the late running service. When I take delivery of mail, the delivery guy's job is to beep the barcode and take my signature on a touchscreen. When I get an Uber, I wonder if the driver is aware that we are both helping Uber build the databases intended to power their driverless cars. Robots can help or hinder, but it is their owners who are steadily depersonalising our daily experiences, particularly for city dwellers. They are determined to de-skill the remaining human workforce in pursuit of ever tighter margins. This will continue until the humans are so obviously obsolete that it becomes literally unimaginable that such roles should continue.

You focused on explaining how many everyday objects could be described as robots, but you left out any discussion of the phrase "taken over."

by baddox 9y ago

You focused on explaining how many everyday objects could be described as robots, but you left out any discussion of the phrase "taken over."

jaggederest 9y ago

I mean it simply, many of our major life activities are now intermediated by robots. Logistics, manufacturing, farming, transportation, media and entertainment, etc. How long has it been since most people have hand-written a letter?

Retra 9y ago
I feel like people are confusing the meaning of "taken over" because it means both "outnumbers" and "controls". Electronic messages outnumber paper letters, but humans still control both.
- jaggederest 9y ago
  Well, I mean it in the sense that, if you turned off all of the microprocessors, what would still function? Almost nothing. Ergo everything that would die is "taken over" fully by automation, in a way that should concern people but not terrify them.

austinjp 9y ago

When I stay in a hotel, the receptionist's job is to stand nearby while I type my reservation details into a panel. When I pay at the supermarket, the checkout person's job is to stand nearby in case I have trouble with the self-checkout machine. When I walk through the gates on the metro, the assistant's job is to stand nearby in case the tap-to-pay machine malfunctions. When I stand on the rail platform, I grit my teeth when the automated tannoy announces "sincere apologies" for the late running service. When I take delivery of mail, the delivery guy's job is to beep the barcode and take my signature on a touchscreen. When I get an Uber, I wonder if the driver is aware that we are both helping Uber build the databases intended to power their driverless cars. Robots can help or hinder, but it is their owners who are steadily depersonalising our daily experiences, particularly for city dwellers. They are determined to de-skill the remaining human workforce in pursuit of ever tighter margins. This will continue until the humans are so obviously obsolete that it becomes literally unimaginable that such roles should continue.