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That's funny. Just yesterday I wrote a blog post that mentioned telerobotics [1], as I've become interested in how the global economy has changed since 1990. T

That's funny. Just yesterday I wrote a blog post that mentioned telerobotics [1], as I've become interested in how the global economy has changed since 1990. The book I was reading that inspired it (which I thoroughly recommend) [2] talked about how telerobotics was going to help break down the last of three constraints on globalisation: moving people. The other two are: cost of movement of goods (1st modern industrial revolution); and the cost of moving knowledge (the 2nd modern revolution, since 1990). One of the things argued is that cleaners and dog walkers (for example) can't be moved, so a paradox of high skills economies is that certain low-skill jobs become more valuable. $20K is getting frighteningly close to start making it more economical to have someone operate such a cleaning machine remotely from a low cost area than hiring a local cleaner. Skilled operators could even (with the help of AI?) operate dozens of these at once. Or they could do the 'easy' stuff, and get a 'proper' local cleaner in once in a while to do the tricky bits or a deep clean. Interesting times. [1] - https://zwischenzugs.com/2020/07/13/why-do-we-have-dev-rels-now/ https://zwischenzugs.com/2020/07/13/why-do-we-have-dev-rels-... [2] - https://www.amazon.com/Great-Convergence-Information-Technology-Globalization/dp/0674237846 https://www.amazon.com/Great-Convergence-Information-Technol...

zurfer 6y ago
That's an interesting train of thought, but I hope it is not the future. The world population is still growing. Labour is still the biggest wealth distribution system for most people. To eliminate "low-skill" jobs seems like an inhumane way forward. It will likely increase inequality. Also to take your example: walking a dog can also be considered a high-skill job. Sure you don't need a degree, but you need empathy and kindness. Pretty hard to teach to some people.

zurfer 6y ago

That's an interesting train of thought, but I hope it is not the future. The world population is still growing. Labour is still the biggest wealth distribution system for most people. To eliminate "low-skill" jobs seems like an inhumane way forward. It will likely increase inequality. Also to take your example: walking a dog can also be considered a high-skill job. Sure you don't need a degree, but you need empathy and kindness. Pretty hard to teach to some people.