Oxford has recently reported that up to 40% of current jobs will be gone in the next 10 to 20 years due to automation. With that being said, we now see Bill Gates calling on taxing of robots. We see Elon Musk calling for universal income. What are your thoughts about either automation, universal income, or basically the idea of work going forward. Not interested and blaming one side or the other at this point, care more about ideas of how we move forward.
Ok, wanted to give this a bump... how well are your communities able to handle the infrastructure for the 22nd century? How many of your people in your communities have the workable skills to work in the next environment? I can not wait to read some of the comments.
mr.fundamental Wrote:Ok, wanted to give this a bump... how well are your communities able to handle the infrastructure for the 22nd century? How many of your people in your communities have the workable skills to work in the next environment? I can not wait to read some of the comments.
Is it "progress" when human beings, their relationships and interactions and even faults and foibles, increasingly are viewed as "obstacles" to productivity?
A crude example: all the "if yes, press 1" automation certainly seems to please the corporate complex, but how does it feel to the consumer? I often want to scream, "Please, just let me talk to a person." What is the ultimate, non-monetary price of unthinkingly embracing all technology?
I do not think eastern Kentucky, as a whole, has embraced the way the world is headed. I have often wished with Harry Caudill that our region had established an Appalachian Mountain Authority (much like the TVA) to manage resources more wisely.
The Urban Sombrero Wrote:Is it "progress" when human beings, their relationships and interactions and even faults and foibles, increasingly are viewed as "obstacles" to productivity?
A crude example: all the "if yes, press 1" automation certainly seems to please the corporate complex, but how does it feel to the consumer? I often want to scream, "Please, just let me talk to a person." What is the ultimate, non-monetary price of unthinkingly embracing all technology?
I do not think eastern Kentucky, as a whole, has embraced the way the world is headed. I have often wished with Harry Caudill that our region had established an Appalachian Mountain Authority (much like the TVA) to manage resources more wisely.
It will not be long before you will be unable to tell whether you are talking to a robot of a human. As for managing resources, people who own resources should be free to manage them as they see fit, as long as they do so in a way that does not infringe on other people's constitutional rights.
People are resources and they are resources that should be free to manage themselves. Too many people simply consume technology, without really understanding how it works or how to advance it. Those who are too lazy and short-sighted to develop technical skills that will continue to be in demand will be exploited by those who embrace technology and rise to meet the challenges that emerging technologies will present.
It seems as if liberals are salivating over the prospect of a universal wage for most people, as technology leaders like Elon Musk continue to create tremendous wealth for themselves.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:It will not be long before you will be unable to tell whether you are talking to a robot of a human. As for managing resources, people who own resources should be free to manage them as they see fit, as long as they do so in a way that does not infringe on other people's constitutional rights.
People are resources and they are resources that should be free to manage themselves. Too many people simply consume technology, without really understanding how it works or how to advance it. Those who are too lazy and short-sighted to develop technical skills that will continue to be in demand will be exploited by those who embrace technology and rise to meet the challenges that emerging technologies will present.
It seems as if liberals are salivating over the prospect of a universal wage for most people, as technology leaders like Elon Musk continue to create tremendous wealth for themselves.
But, you will be talking to a robot OR a human, and your statement makes it sound as if you denote no difference. Rising to meet the challenge of evolving technology begs the question of the whole issue of whether or not the technological advance serves the interests of humanity, or actually degrades those interests.
I really dislike waiting on the phone for "help" lines, so I generally look for a "chat live" option whenever I need an answer. I was on such a line the other day for Direct TV, and kept getting answers that appeared canned to me. So I typed in the question...are you a computer. I got a weird answer, so I asked again. When I got the same answer, I typed in that I was wondering because they never made typographical errors. THEN, this person typed in that they were live but trying to help several customers at a time. They had an option to use pre-scripted answers for FAQs.
Sort of like a bionic human/machine tech.
The Urban Sombrero Wrote:But, you will be talking to a robot OR a human, and your statement makes it sound as if you denote no difference. Rising to meet the challenge of evolving technology begs the question of the whole issue of whether or not the technological advance serves the interests of humanity, or actually degrades those interests.
My statement was very clear. At the rate AI is advancing, you will, in the not too far distant future be unable to tell with any degree of certainty whether you are talking to a human or a machine because the robot may be as smart as any human on the planet.
My opinion as to whether that is a good thing or not has nothing to do with my post. I just described the future that almost certainly awaits us.
The socialists and communists, who share the planet with decent folks, are already signaling that they will use automation as another excuse to redistribute wealth from workers to drones.
Interesting so as we move forward with AI, how is your area looking to do things such as advanced manufacturing?
Also, as jobs continue to be replaced and by more of an efficient means, how do we look at the idea of work?
mr.fundamental Wrote:Interesting so as we move forward with AI, how is your area looking to do things such as advanced manufacturing?
Also, as jobs continue to be replaced and by more of an efficient means, how do we look at the idea of work?
There it is: "efficient." It seems to me that, in the name of efficiency, technology has become the master, and human beings the servant. Wading through a "press 1" then "press 2" then say "yes" then say "no" does not feel efficient. It feels like that maximizing profits takes little account of what might be best for human beings and community and interpersonal relationships, the sorts of things for thousands of years our ancestors stayed alive for. The assumption is, I fear, that if the profit margin is maximized, and the gross national product grows grosser every year, and if any technology advances those ends it is a god, then human society gets better. And, so, we all dance around a golden calf, and wear golden handcuffs, and tell each other we're happy, when we are really pretty close to drones ourselves.
The Urban Sombrero Wrote:There it is: "efficient." It seems to me that, in the name of efficiency, technology has become the master, and human beings the servant. Wading through a "press 1" then "press 2" then say "yes" then say "no" does not feel efficient. It feels like that maximizing profits takes little account of what might be best for human beings and community and interpersonal relationships, the sorts of things for thousands of years our ancestors stayed alive for. The assumption is, I fear, that if the profit margin is maximized, and the gross national product grows grosser every year, and if any technology advances those ends it is a god, then human society gets better. And, so, we all dance around a golden calf, and wear golden handcuffs, and tell each other we're happy, when we are really pretty close to drones ourselves.
I think Moore's law is in effect, in my lifetime, I will see many displaced workers. I also think there will be a shift in the idea of work as we move forward. I am curious to see how this transformation comes about. I do not really have an opinion on if this is good or bad. In my opinion, it is what it is. We have faced these ideas with automation before in the coal mines and auto plants. It is going to cut into other sectors soon enough (cab service for one).
I think it is interesting to hear Eastern Kentucky discuss it, because we have already seen it.