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Who maintains the machines? Who produces the replacement parts and sources the materials for the machines? What happens when the power goes out? So many flaws i

Who maintains the machines? Who produces the replacement parts and sources the materials for the machines? What happens when the power goes out? So many flaws in the plan of a completely or even almost robot/algorithm based job future I don't know if it'll really happen. We've had automation in the automotive industry for how long now and look at the amount of people required to ensure the process works along the way? Having said that, I am all for automating things. As a developer, I've seen a dramatic shift in the last 5 years alone with tools for handling tasks and automating things are a dime a doze. Automation definitely has a place, but I think it's too far to suggest that robots will take everyone's jobs, just a few. You're not going to be served coffee from a Starbucks robot barista any time soon. A future where everyone doesn't have to work sounds nice in theory, in practice it cannot and will not work.

DanBC 12y ago
Robots in the car industry have removed very many jobs! Sure, you need people to build, sell, deliver, install, program, operate and maintain those robots but those jobs are still fewer than the numbers of people who ised to be on the production lines. You still find many people in electronics factories, but surface mount pick and place machines are throwing 30,000 components per hour onto PCBs. These machine shave replaced benches of people stuffing components onto PCBs with one or two people operating the machine. Barista work is low pay low status. Social interaction is the reason we don't see barista robots in coffee shops, although we do see them beginning to enter supermarkets and roadside service stations. (Often with foul coffee). And job descriptions change. "Baker" used to mean someone who used recipes to make breads. Now it appears to mean someone who takes presupplied gloop out of the tub, shapes it; and bales it for the time specified.

DanBC 12y ago

Robots in the car industry have removed very many jobs! Sure, you need people to build, sell, deliver, install, program, operate and maintain those robots but those jobs are still fewer than the numbers of people who ised to be on the production lines. You still find many people in electronics factories, but surface mount pick and place machines are throwing 30,000 components per hour onto PCBs. These machine shave replaced benches of people stuffing components onto PCBs with one or two people operating the machine. Barista work is low pay low status. Social interaction is the reason we don't see barista robots in coffee shops, although we do see them beginning to enter supermarkets and roadside service stations. (Often with foul coffee). And job descriptions change. "Baker" used to mean someone who used recipes to make breads. Now it appears to mean someone who takes presupplied gloop out of the tub, shapes it; and bales it for the time specified.