6 ms·

I'm ok with that. These drivers will move onto intelligent work where they can get trained in less menial work. The only reason a taxi driver stays a taxi drive

I'm ok with that. These drivers will move onto intelligent work where they can get trained in less menial work. The only reason a taxi driver stays a taxi driver is because he believes he has no other alternative to make money. Let's get them training in customer service or creative work and give them human jobs.

ThomPete 12y ago
I am not sure what you mean. For most people this is it.
Ygg2 12y ago
I don't think it will work out that way. If Uber dumps them cold they'll have no money to retrain. Also I doubt taxi driver stays taxi driver because of all alternative opportunities he has.
- akshatpradhan 12y ago
  What were these drivers doing before Uber? Let's not pretend that any job is an ok job. These jobs are not ok for humans and with a basic income, these people can contribute in better more creatives ways. My best friends mom was a cleaner for the Hilton for 20+ years. Sure it was a job, but there was nothing meaningful about it.
  - ThomPete 12y ago
    I am not sure what you are trying to get at. The people who are drivers are drivers for many different reasons some of the are quite well educated and I don't think you can conclude what you seem to conclude. Technology killing jobs is a real problem, technology killing jobs in an increasingly faster and faster pace is an even bigger problem as it doesn't allow people to re-educate themselves. It's a much much much bigger problem than you seem to imply.
EpicEng 12y ago
"These drivers will move onto intelligent work where they can get trained in less menial work" Can you point to any time in history where that actually occurred on a large scale? Genuinely interested.
- jessriedel 12y ago
  75% of the US used to be farmers. (Not all of farming is menial, but a lot of it is and it was much less sophisticated than it is today). (Edited 90 --> 75.)
  - code_duck 12y ago
    So did those people get job training and move on to white collar jobs, or did their children? My guess is most of those farmers retired or died.
  - ThomPete 12y ago
    The transition went much much slower than it does today most people are missing a very important point here. We aren't just talking about automation of physical things we are also talking about automation of intelligence based tasks. Also people often bring out the horse carriages as an example of how the people who controlled those just went on to become car drivers instead but the horses they never found new occupation. Automation is replacing higher and higher levels of thinking and that is the problem. Its not just going to compete with you for your physical abilities but your mental ones. That's the big deal and thats where we are headed. Driverless cars illuminates that point quite substantially.
nilkn 12y ago
It's much more likely that these drivers' children will move onto "intelligent work." The drivers themselves -- the ones for whom it's a primary source of income, anyway -- are mostly stuck in a financial rut. They don't exactly have the spare cash sitting around which would allow them to just learn some "creative work." Getting bills paid and food on the table for their family will take priority.
sixQuarks 12y ago
Things don't work like that in the real world. There is a very real problem when technology quickly makes an entire workforce obsolete. I believe there will eventually have to be a minimum income that is given to every adult. There will be many people choosing not to work who are fine living off this minimum income. There will also of course be those who would rather work but whose skills are obsolete.

ThomPete 12y ago

I am not sure what you mean. For most people this is it.

Ygg2 12y ago

I don't think it will work out that way. If Uber dumps them cold they'll have no money to retrain. Also I doubt taxi driver stays taxi driver because of all alternative opportunities he has.

akshatpradhan 12y ago
What were these drivers doing before Uber? Let's not pretend that any job is an ok job. These jobs are not ok for humans and with a basic income, these people can contribute in better more creatives ways. My best friends mom was a cleaner for the Hilton for 20+ years. Sure it was a job, but there was nothing meaningful about it.
- ThomPete 12y ago
  I am not sure what you are trying to get at. The people who are drivers are drivers for many different reasons some of the are quite well educated and I don't think you can conclude what you seem to conclude. Technology killing jobs is a real problem, technology killing jobs in an increasingly faster and faster pace is an even bigger problem as it doesn't allow people to re-educate themselves. It's a much much much bigger problem than you seem to imply.

EpicEng 12y ago

"These drivers will move onto intelligent work where they can get trained in less menial work" Can you point to any time in history where that actually occurred on a large scale? Genuinely interested.

jessriedel 12y ago
75% of the US used to be farmers. (Not all of farming is menial, but a lot of it is and it was much less sophisticated than it is today). (Edited 90 --> 75.)
- code_duck 12y ago
  So did those people get job training and move on to white collar jobs, or did their children? My guess is most of those farmers retired or died.
- ThomPete 12y ago
  The transition went much much slower than it does today most people are missing a very important point here. We aren't just talking about automation of physical things we are also talking about automation of intelligence based tasks. Also people often bring out the horse carriages as an example of how the people who controlled those just went on to become car drivers instead but the horses they never found new occupation. Automation is replacing higher and higher levels of thinking and that is the problem. Its not just going to compete with you for your physical abilities but your mental ones. That's the big deal and thats where we are headed. Driverless cars illuminates that point quite substantially.

nilkn 12y ago

It's much more likely that these drivers' children will move onto "intelligent work." The drivers themselves -- the ones for whom it's a primary source of income, anyway -- are mostly stuck in a financial rut. They don't exactly have the spare cash sitting around which would allow them to just learn some "creative work." Getting bills paid and food on the table for their family will take priority.

sixQuarks 12y ago

Things don't work like that in the real world. There is a very real problem when technology quickly makes an entire workforce obsolete. I believe there will eventually have to be a minimum income that is given to every adult. There will be many people choosing not to work who are fine living off this minimum income. There will also of course be those who would rather work but whose skills are obsolete.