Retail's rise of machines

[neilsimon]

Automation in the workforce? Wow? Is this something new? I've never heard of this before. Scary

Yes, but amazingly, some people think that they are so special that their job could never be made obsolete or replaced by a machine.

[Dizzy1]

Automation in the workforce? Wow? Is this something new? I've never heard of this before. Scary

Yes, but amazingly, some people think that they are so special that their job could never be made obsolete or replaced by a machine.

And some of us have actually an increased work load thanks to technology.

[maryjane48]

care to recant ? or remain looking foolish


https://www.sciencealert.com/this-auton ... t-suturing

out performed humans no less


http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedu ... c-20013988


mayo clinic has been using since 2000. approved by fda.


https://www.zeiss.com/meditec/int/produ ... AvDO8P8HAQ


i could go on but why.

[maryjane48]

for how long dizzy ? once we have a working quantum computer it will be new world .


http://computer.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer.htm


as far as we can tell our universe is based on math . that means it might be possible when you think you have a unique idea or thought that it can be a result of a math formula. the idea that humans will somehow out perform a computer is fallacy at best and arrogance at worst

[mikest2]

Automation in the workforce? Wow? Is this something new? I've never heard of this before. Scary

Yes, but amazingly, some people think that they are so special that their job could never be made obsolete or replaced by a machine.

Uh..............I'm the guy that fixes the machines...........

[maryjane48]

for how long you think that will last mike ? robots will even be able to reproduce as some do now. to explore our universe we will need completly automated systems. and we are going to build them . we are not there yet hence sending humans to mars. but if we were there now humans would not go until a city and life support was built by ai first .

[Sparki55]

care to recant ? or remain looking foolish


https://www.sciencealert.com/this-auton ... t-suturing

out performed humans no less


http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedu ... c-20013988


mayo clinic has been using since 2000. approved by fda.


https://www.zeiss.com/meditec/int/produ ... AvDO8P8HAQ


i could go on but why.

Those are the same as what I posted. The DaVinci robot from Mayo clinic is human operated , same as the last link shared by you.

The first link is the only one which is autonomous but has never been used on humans and takes 4 times as long to operate than a surgeon. It is programmed to stitch up pigs soft tissue only, no other operation. It will never be able to *bleep* a human after a car accident and provide the appropriate treatment. Yes you are correct that it may be used to perform soft tissue repair on humans but not without the advice and input of a human being, doctor.

Also, I'd never let my life be in the hands of a machine. IT staff at my work can barely keep email going in the office, I'm not about to trust them with my life.

[BelieveNothing]

Should Hawaii Guarantee Every Resident A Minimum Income?

As technology threatens to eliminate jobs, Hawaii may be the first state to seriously study the idea.

Sometimes an idea is so innovative that a government even thinking about it gets a lot of attention.

Such is the case with Hawaii’s plan to study a system in which all citizens might receive an unconditional sum of money from the government.

A resolution adopted by the Legislature last session calls for a “basic economic security working group” to study universal basic income. Although only the germ of an idea, news of the resolution spread nationally this week via online publications like Vox and BusinessInsider.

“I think it’s been a bit unexpected,” said Rep Chris Lee, who sponsored the measure. “But I’m definitely glad to see a lot of people out there looking at this and asking the same questions.”


A resolution calling for a working group to study universal basic income in Hawaii cites self-checkout aisles as one example of technology eliminating service sector jobs.

The broad resolution paints a portrait of the disruption that technology has brought to the jobs market: Airbnb has become the world’s largest lodging company without owning any hotels; self-driving Ubers are starting to replace taxis in some places; IBM’s Watson computer can provide basic legal advice faster and more accurately than a human lawyer; and self-checkout lines are replacing human cashiers at stores.

Lee said he tried to put such real-world examples of changes in the resolution to highlight how innovations are starting to take jobs in service industries that have long been insulated from the robots that have done the same thing in the manufacturing sector.

The question, Lee said, is what these changes mean in Hawaii, where the cost of living is high and people often make ends meet by working more than one service job.

“The whole purpose of this is to get a conversation started,” Lee said. “This is really to identify what our options are, what are the mechanisms that can be looked at to improve our situation going forward.”

Rep. Beth Fukumoto, a former Republican who was House minority leader when she signed onto the bill, said the need for families to be able to make ends meet is not a partisan issue.

“The idea that the economy is changing is more of a fact than a partisan talking point,” said Fukumoto, who left the Republican Party after being denounced at the party’s state convention for raising concerns about the racist and sexist behavior of Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate.

The resolution notes that governments of Finland, Uganda, and the Canadian province of Ontario have started pilot projects looking at universal basic income. Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg lauded the idea in his commencement address at Harvard University in May.

“We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like (gross domestic product), but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful,” Zuckerberg said. “We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things. We’re going to change jobs many times, so we need affordable child care to get to work and health care that aren’t tied to one company.

Hawaii seems to be the first state taking a serious look at the idea.

“Without a doubt, this could be the first in the country,” said Wade Rathke, a long-time organizer for the now-dissolved Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a collection of community groups that advocated for affordable housing and health care for low- and moderate income families. “It’d be amazing to see Hawaii look at this closely.”


“The idea that the economy is changing is more of a fact than a partisan talking point.” — Rep. Beth Fukumoto

When Rathke founded ACORN in 1970, the idea of a guaranteed income wasn’t only a liberal or progressive idea, Rathke said. Republican President Richard Nixon had proposed something akin to a guaranteed minimum income, eligible even to working persons. The idea of a minimum guaranteed income fell by the wayside in the Reagan era, Rathke said.

Lately, however, the idea has gained currency among corporate executives, labor leaders and policymakers, Lee said. Pierre Omidyar, the publisher of Honolulu Civil Beat, is financing a universal basic income pilot program in Kenya.

The Hawaii working group is to consist of officials from the departments of Labor and Industrial Relations; Business, Economic Development and Tourism; state House and Senate labor committee chairs; the director of the Department of Human Services; the executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization; and representatives of labor and business organizations.

The proposal has received support from both the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce and Unite HERE, Local 5, which represents hotel workers in Hawaii.

Paola Rodelas, a spokeswoman for Unite HERE, said the organization has been concerned for a while about issues like automation taking jobs. Also, she said, the proliferation of online rental agencies like Airbnb have hurt hotel workers by reducing demand for their services and by converting potential homes into illegal short-term rentals.

“Our mission is really rooted in how do we make Hawaii sustainable,” Rodelas said. “And that’s why we supported the resolution: because we really need to take a look at the long-term economic security of Hawaii.”

http://www.civilbeat.org/2017/06/is-hawaii-ready-for-a-guaranteed-basic-income/

It seems in reality that this unfolding may have nothing to do with "facts" per say - but rather an agenda - of the so-called Elites

So no matter how many human beings remain in a -so-called work force, this will roll out regardless.

Will watch and see...

[slootman]

Automation is not new. Jobs becoming obsolete is nothing new.

Reality: Some jobs will continue to become obsolete. New jobs will come up as a result of new technology. Those who react to change will do fine. Some people will still be stuck at the bottom (but not because of automation).

The funniest part of the discussion is the assertion that all of humanity is doomed because jobs are being automated. I guess we should put a stop to using horses for farm labour too - after all a human could be doing that job. Then we find out how many posters want to plow fields instead of sitting at home on their behinds. Then eventually the horses go back to work, and posters can get back to sitting on their butts at home - complaining about horses.

[neilsimon]

Automation is not new. Jobs becoming obsolete is nothing new.

Reality: Some jobs will continue to become obsolete. New jobs will come up as a result of new technology. Those who react to change will do fine. Some people will still be stuck at the bottom (but not because of automation).

The funniest part of the discussion is the assertion that all of humanity is doomed because jobs are being automated. I guess we should put a stop to using horses for farm labour too - after all a human could be doing that job. Then we find out how many posters want to plow fields instead of sitting at home on their behinds. Then eventually the horses go back to work, and posters can get back to sitting on their butts at home - complaining about horses.

It's different this time. More jobs are being automated or made obsolete than are being created and that rate is growing.

[slootman]

It's different this time. More jobs are being automated or made obsolete than are being created and that rate is growing.

I don't buy that for a second. Unless you have a source? Its the same as every other potentially job killing new thing. A few people run scared. Everyone else just adapts and keeps plunking along just fine.

How many software engineers did you know 30 years ago? How many web developers 20 years ago? How many social media marketers did you know 10 years ago?

Old jobs out, new jobs in.

[Sparki55]

Slootman, the above people who think automation will consume ever human job are buying into the next round of fear mongering. I have no idea what the agenda is here or how it will benefit those pushing it but it will all he clear in the years to come. Selling the idea of a basic income is easy, especially when it seems like an easy way out with no effort. Add in fear of all jobs being taken and masses start to follow.

I have yet to see one realistic post on how basic income will be funded. With no one working, where is the money coming from? The robots aren't earning it, so you can't tax them. If you expect the owner of the robots to pay for you to stay at home, what stops the owner from quitting and collecting the basic income. No one would work anymore. I'd certainly quit my job, no need for the stress to be paid to vacation all the time.