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Oh, you mean a plumber working from home, just like a programmer? And not having to pay exorbitant real estate prices to live near his clients? What a horror!
by pakitan 3y ago
Oh, you mean a plumber working from home, just like a programmer? And not having to pay exorbitant real estate prices to live near his clients? What a horror!
- taneq 3y agoNo, they mean a plumber in a country with terrible human rights abuses, working chained to a bench in some horrible sweatshop.
- EGreg 3y agoAnd why would they need this plumber’s services once the robot learns from 8000 plumbing jobs database?
- taneq 3y agoWhy would they pay the per-job API charge for RoboMario when an actual sweatshop worker is cheaper than the first-world electricity to run the server farm?
- e12e 3y agoIt might work half the time in standardized catalog houses/apartments soon - but might need a few hours per job of human guidance in the majority of jobs for the forseeable future?
- btbuildem 3y agoBecause the real world is infinitely more messy than a database. Do a few plumbing fixes and you will immediately understand the vast challenge of automating that type of work. It's actually a fantastic example of probably one of the last jobs/trades to be automated.
- pakitan 3y agoSo, in our current reality rich people in rich countries are immensely worried about the fate of poor people in countries with terrible human rights abuses? But once avatar bodies are invented those fine folks will turn into blood sucking monsters?
- graemep 3y agoAre they that concerned? Some people are, and they will take some action - but only on what is reported in the media they read, and its very sporadic and random.
- e12e 3y agoWe already have drone pilots working from "home", and it appears the alienation is real. Not that bombing military age children from an f-16 is a walk in the park. And while I personally enjoy working from home I know a lot of people who would claw at the walls if forced to WFH. Point being - it might seem like a small difference - doesn't mean that it is a small difference.
- sgt101 3y agoPlumbers aren't really a good example as they are skilled and powerful. Therefore a teleoperated plumber robot could actually enhance the life of plumbers as they would be able to do more work more conveniently. However, for cleaners or domestic servants, well expect a race to the bottom, think North Korean prison colony for a model.
- pakitan 3y agoHow are plumbers so skilled and powerful that they can avoid being enslaved? If slavery is legal in your country, certainly being a plumber vs housemaid will not be the deciding factor in whether you become a slave. Clearly the key factor here is the legality of slavery, not the existence of remotely operated robots. Edit: I also don't understand why we suddenly jumped from GP's scary dystopian warning to robots operated by foreign slaves. Casting aside how unrealistic the underlying technology is, applying it en masse is an entirely different discussion. You're essentially allowing the whole world's population to migrate to your country.
- nuancebydefault 3y agoIt's not literal slavery, rather what's often called 'a modern form of slavery' that is the unfortunate risk. People working for very low payment, they can barely live if it. Because of the tele operation, people will compete with a lot of peers across the world, hence the pressure on the salary. There is also a flip side, the even-poorer people get a chance to compete with the 'normal' poor and generate some income. I believe there really is no way out of this direction of affairs. It's capatalism, free market at work. Hopefully soon the machines become smart and cheap enough such that the poor can benefit as well. In the end anything can be automated, building and operating houses and infrastructure, and making food.
- graemep 3y agopart true, but if you greatly increase the supply of plumbers by drawing on a global pool of people it would cease to be true pretty rapidly.