04-21-2019, 08:21 AM
(04-21-2019, 04:36 AM)rom65536 Wrote: The short term future I foresee is like the movie "Elysium"....only worse. Matt Damon wouldn't have had the robot-painting job, because a robot could do it quicker, safer, and more accurately with no sick days, no lunch break, less waste and no industrial accidents.
Unless liberal democratic states collapse into the world of Snow Crash, there’s a rather straightforward solution to avoiding a dystopian rampant unemployment scenario: we get laws passed to make implementation of automation in enough jobs illegal, at least until we can figure out a better way.
In the driverless vehicle case, when you really want the automation, it’s possible to require companies to hire a “driver” for each of their self-driving vehicles and pay them for the machines’ work. You get the increased vehicular safety without leaving former-drivers without a source of income.
Also, I think you’re seriously overestimating the arrival of human worker obsolescence. Yes, robots are advancing rapidly in physical capability, but they’re still really, really stupid, dumber than most any mammal. I’m not losing my job to a gerbil anytime soon.