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This is automation on a scale that we have not seen before where machines are actually capable of decision making and precision work. This is combined with a ma

This is automation on a scale that we have not seen before where machines are actually capable of decision making and precision work. This is combined with a massive concentration of wealth at the top. Also there are a whole lot more people now. Potential long term could be colonization of the moon / mars. Plenty of unskilled labor required and opens a new frontier.

jfk13 7y ago
It's not at all obvious to me that colonization of another planet, if we're ever in a position to actually undertake it, will involve "plenty of unskilled labor".
- mdorazio 7y ago
  Agreed. Pretty much the opposite, actually - shipping, housing, feeding, etc. a bunch of humans is obscenely expensive in the context of space exploration. You're far better off sending a bunch of robots with a couple mechanics to keep them running. Additionally, I'm pretty sure that by the time we're in any kind of position to do actual colonization efforts, automation effects will have long since taken their toll.
  - TylerE 7y ago
    Shipping a smaller number of humans to be...baby factories is probably cheaper than shipping an entire population though.
    - benj111 7y ago
      Even cheaper to ship some embryos, and a couple of gestation tanks. This is starting to get dystopic rather quickly.
TylerE 7y ago
It's not really new. Industrial pick and place robots have existed for decades.
- petra 7y ago
  They didn't fit well in most places. Now they might.