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You can read the study here: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/driverless/ http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/driverless/ "Autonomous trucks could replace as many a

by aodin 7y ago

You can read the study here: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/driverless/ http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/driverless/ "Autonomous trucks could replace as many as 294,000 long-distance drivers, including some of the best jobs in the industry. Many other freight-moving jobs will be created in their place, perhaps even more than will be lost, but these new jobs will be local driving and last-mile delivery jobs that—absent proactive public policy—will likely be misclassified independent contractors and have lower wages and poor working conditions."

ianai 7y ago
Those last mile delivery jobs also already exist. That market isn’t going to grow, necessarily, because long distance becomes autonomous.
- foogazi 7y ago
  Wouldn’t lowering costs for freight mean an increase in trips ? More things can be shipped farther away therefore more last mile jobs?
PakG1 7y ago
If tech companies reach their holy grail of what they want to do with self-driving, last-mile delivery jobs won't exist. And as I already said, yes, that's a big if. But it's something the tech companies are aiming to achieve. And besides that, I am highly doubtful that proactive public policy would enable last-mile delivery jobs to have higher wages and better working conditions. The public policy isn't there today, I'm not confident it would be there in the future. Most public policy trusts macro economic theory's invisible hand to naturally raise wages if there are truly more jobs than there are people. And if it's true, that's what will happen, then there's no need for proactive public policy. So... /shrug All of this ignores Yang's other point that all of the roadside diners and other hospitality industry on the highways that depend on the trucking industry would be affected. I'm not saying that the tech companies will achieve what they are aiming to do. Again, I'm a short-term self-driving skeptic. But I think it's dangerous to not have the conversation.

by aodin 7y ago

ianai 7y ago

Those last mile delivery jobs also already exist. That market isn’t going to grow, necessarily, because long distance becomes autonomous.

foogazi 7y ago
Wouldn’t lowering costs for freight mean an increase in trips ? More things can be shipped farther away therefore more last mile jobs?

PakG1 7y ago

If tech companies reach their holy grail of what they want to do with self-driving, last-mile delivery jobs won't exist. And as I already said, yes, that's a big if. But it's something the tech companies are aiming to achieve. And besides that, I am highly doubtful that proactive public policy would enable last-mile delivery jobs to have higher wages and better working conditions. The public policy isn't there today, I'm not confident it would be there in the future. Most public policy trusts macro economic theory's invisible hand to naturally raise wages if there are truly more jobs than there are people. And if it's true, that's what will happen, then there's no need for proactive public policy. So... /shrug All of this ignores Yang's other point that all of the roadside diners and other hospitality industry on the highways that depend on the trucking industry would be affected. I'm not saying that the tech companies will achieve what they are aiming to do. Again, I'm a short-term self-driving skeptic. But I think it's dangerous to not have the conversation.