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> What I never see mentioned in these types of articles is the rise of the service economy. There are some jobs that will never be automated because we prefer t

> What I never see mentioned in these types of articles is the rise of the service economy. There are some jobs that will never be automated because we prefer to deal with humans Mainly because percentage-wise there are so few of them, and they don't make up a significant enough portion of the economy to keep it afloat.

CryptoPunk 9y ago
Customer-facing service jobs employ a huge number of people. In any case, there once was a time when white collar jobs were a tiny occupation category. There was even a time when manufacturing jobs were rare. The economy and composition of jobs changes with the abundance of resources.
- BoiledCabbage 9y ago
  > Customer-facing service jobs employ a huge number of people But irreplaceable ones aren't. Bank tellers, cashiers, bus drivers, firemen, card dealers, bar tenders... all can and will be replaced by automation and consumers won't care.
  - CryptoPunk 9y ago
    Bartenders are totally irreplaceable. The non-social aspect of the job is easily automatable and has been for a long time, and the social aspect is contingent on human interaction.
  - goatlover 9y ago
    I don't see bartenders being replaced en masse. It's as much about social interaction as it is about pouring a drink, particularly for your local hangout.
    - lostboys67 9y ago
      and the average bar /pub is such a chaotic and disorderly place a robot that could replace a human is probably not going to happen. E.g. design me a robot that can work in say 90% or bars and pubs including climbing down the ladder to the cellar and putting on a new barrel and that's not to count the dealing with unruly customers.
      - patrickk 9y ago
        I worked as a barman. A skilled barman can pour two pints simultaneously and take a new order from the next customer, but I believe with machine assistance this could be greatly increased. I could easily imagine replacing a staff of say 5, with 1 or 2 workers. Large order for 10 pints, 3 cocktails and 7 shots? A staff member presses a button, and the correctly sized, just cleaned glass pop out of a slot coming from the automated dishwasher, and the pints and other drinks are poured to perfection, every time. The barman checks the order is correct, accepts payment, gives change if its in cash, cleans the tables and changes the barrels when it's quiet. You could get a hell of a lot more work done with a small number of low paid staff and machines that can pour endless drinks at once. So while you don't eliminate all the staff, you can drastically reduce the headcount and greatly increase productivity, at least in theory.

CryptoPunk 9y ago

Customer-facing service jobs employ a huge number of people. In any case, there once was a time when white collar jobs were a tiny occupation category. There was even a time when manufacturing jobs were rare. The economy and composition of jobs changes with the abundance of resources.

BoiledCabbage 9y ago
> Customer-facing service jobs employ a huge number of people But irreplaceable ones aren't. Bank tellers, cashiers, bus drivers, firemen, card dealers, bar tenders... all can and will be replaced by automation and consumers won't care.
- CryptoPunk 9y ago
  Bartenders are totally irreplaceable. The non-social aspect of the job is easily automatable and has been for a long time, and the social aspect is contingent on human interaction.
- goatlover 9y ago
  I don't see bartenders being replaced en masse. It's as much about social interaction as it is about pouring a drink, particularly for your local hangout.
  - lostboys67 9y ago
    and the average bar /pub is such a chaotic and disorderly place a robot that could replace a human is probably not going to happen. E.g. design me a robot that can work in say 90% or bars and pubs including climbing down the ladder to the cellar and putting on a new barrel and that's not to count the dealing with unruly customers.
    - patrickk 9y ago
      I worked as a barman. A skilled barman can pour two pints simultaneously and take a new order from the next customer, but I believe with machine assistance this could be greatly increased. I could easily imagine replacing a staff of say 5, with 1 or 2 workers. Large order for 10 pints, 3 cocktails and 7 shots? A staff member presses a button, and the correctly sized, just cleaned glass pop out of a slot coming from the automated dishwasher, and the pints and other drinks are poured to perfection, every time. The barman checks the order is correct, accepts payment, gives change if its in cash, cleans the tables and changes the barrels when it's quiet. You could get a hell of a lot more work done with a small number of low paid staff and machines that can pour endless drinks at once. So while you don't eliminate all the staff, you can drastically reduce the headcount and greatly increase productivity, at least in theory.