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Ah. I'm old enough to remember the last time automation was going to eliminate all the jobs.. back in the 80's, when robots entered the chat and manufacturing j

Ah. I'm old enough to remember the last time automation was going to eliminate all the jobs.. back in the 80's, when robots entered the chat and manufacturing jobs got outsourced to Japan. (side note, interesting to read that the nikkei finally surpassed the previous record set in 1993 or so). But now, it's interesting because, well, for one, I'm actually old enough for it to matter to me now. And two, I actually work in a field that may be impacted. Perhaps it's time to invoke Martin Niemöller's poem: First they came for the garment workers And I did not speak out Because I liked cheap clothes Then they came for the blue collar assembly line workers And I did not speak out Because I liked cheap cars Then they came for the journalists And I did not speak out Because I was not a journalist Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me.

Swizec 3y ago
> when robots entered the chat and manufacturing jobs got outsourced FWIW: Car manufacturers have started moving back away from robots because productivity gains have not quite materialized. Turns out humans are really really good at solving small problems in real time without needing a bunch of hand holding. > Research in a highly automated German car body production plant found as many as 20 to 30 human interventions per shift were needed to prevent major flaws in quality and productivity. Agile, cost effective, and high-quality operations in the automotive industry require adaptability and the ability to change quickly, and humans can be more flexible and capable than production line robots. > Human labour also won in studies conducted by Toyota comparing the time it took people and machines to assemble a car. https://www.performancedrivers.com.au/single-post/robots-humans-tesla-toyota https://www.performancedrivers.com.au/single-post/robots-hum...
- ipython 3y ago
  This was not apparent in the mid 1980s when the robot panic was definitely in full swing. You're looking back with almost 40 years of hindsight. The view in the 80s was that the entire assembly line was going away to be replaced with nothing but robots. We were taught to expect that our jobs would be to maintain and service the robots. Heck in the 90s I remember going to a museum somewhere where McDonald's was demonstrating a fully robotic kitchen for its restaurants. This was a real widespread fear at the time. Thirty to 40 years later, maybe we can look back and recognize that it didn't quite turn out that way, but at the same time we can't know what's going to transpire by 2050 based on today's fears of AI outsourcing "information work" either.
  - sterlind 3y ago
    McDonalds has automated the ordering process away, though.
    - sumtechguy 3y ago
      They didnt really automate that at all. They just put it on their customers to push the buttons for the kitchen to read off the screen instead and move the food around.
deleted 3y ago
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Swizec 3y ago

> when robots entered the chat and manufacturing jobs got outsourced FWIW: Car manufacturers have started moving back away from robots because productivity gains have not quite materialized. Turns out humans are really really good at solving small problems in real time without needing a bunch of hand holding. > Research in a highly automated German car body production plant found as many as 20 to 30 human interventions per shift were needed to prevent major flaws in quality and productivity. Agile, cost effective, and high-quality operations in the automotive industry require adaptability and the ability to change quickly, and humans can be more flexible and capable than production line robots. > Human labour also won in studies conducted by Toyota comparing the time it took people and machines to assemble a car. https://www.performancedrivers.com.au/single-post/robots-humans-tesla-toyota https://www.performancedrivers.com.au/single-post/robots-hum...

ipython 3y ago
This was not apparent in the mid 1980s when the robot panic was definitely in full swing. You're looking back with almost 40 years of hindsight. The view in the 80s was that the entire assembly line was going away to be replaced with nothing but robots. We were taught to expect that our jobs would be to maintain and service the robots. Heck in the 90s I remember going to a museum somewhere where McDonald's was demonstrating a fully robotic kitchen for its restaurants. This was a real widespread fear at the time. Thirty to 40 years later, maybe we can look back and recognize that it didn't quite turn out that way, but at the same time we can't know what's going to transpire by 2050 based on today's fears of AI outsourcing "information work" either.
- sterlind 3y ago
  McDonalds has automated the ordering process away, though.
  - sumtechguy 3y ago
    They didnt really automate that at all. They just put it on their customers to push the buttons for the kitchen to read off the screen instead and move the food around.

deleted 3y ago

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