I know there is much talk and speculation about driverless cars and trucks in out near future. The ramifications of this moving forward is still relatively unknown. Will jobs be lost as with any advance in technology, Well that is a resounding yes of course! The biggest reason for lost jobs since the 1970’s has been updates in manufacturing due in the most part by automation and computers running the show.
I was heartened to read and article recently about the kinds of jobs that robots will not be able to take over. One example was in car manufacturing, the robots weld the bits together and move it all along the assembly line, but toward the end there are humans wiping over the finished product and visually checking to see there are no scratches or anything looking wrong before the car leaves the factory.
Of course there is still education, if it’s ever to be taken seriously in the united states, tech will make some aspects of education more accessible to students but teachers and I hope one day well paid teachers will always be needed as the AI doesn’t have the social skills, the personal touch to help when a student needs assistance.
But let’s face it there are going to be many industries that will no longer use humans because the new technology will replace them. Some countries have talked about and are experimenting with universal basic income. This will give citizens the option to survive in a world where there will be 40% unemployment due to the rapid changes in technology.
I know some countries argue they can’t afford it, that crap will get us no where as the inevitable is going to come anyway. And unless the powers decide to be proactive and do it right what will they do with the thousands maybe even millions of people who will become homeless and require some sort of assistance. It’s not a case of the powers deciding whether they need to do something, it will be forced upon them regardless of their feeling about it!
I wonder with all these people out of work who the fuck is going to be able to afford to take the flying cars that will I presume be buzzing over our heads. There are allot of changes and it seems to be a race between the tech companies, but how is society being prepared to handle the new technology that will be placed in front of us. Like the social media & privacy, I think there is no preparation and nobody in power seems the care of even know what the hell is about to happen!
Peace!
