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Portentous changes to the work economies of India and the USA due to job automation by machines and robots continue to make headlines. Varieties of hardware and software automation are seeing implementation burgeon in both countries, as companies seek efficiency by replacing humans with machines. Wage erosion in areas previously unaffected by automation - including varieties of programming - is getting commoner while new, albeit highly specialized, engineering jobs are created. Both articles encourage educational changes mindful of these realities, though how colleges either side of the world can adapt to the blistering pace of automation is unclear.
The latest tranche of job automation news comes hot on the heels of Davos' prediction that machine automation will result in a net loss globally of over 5 million jobs prior to 2020.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by slinches on Wednesday February 10 2016, @04:40AM
What can you do?
Find something that people want and fulfill that role. Same as always. The only thing that's really changing is the pace of change and we can use our newly developed technologies to keep up with that.
(Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday February 10 2016, @11:31PM
Thanks for volunteering to cover my room, board, and cost of education for the years it'll take to be retrained to be a robot technician now that my job just got automated!
(Score: 2) by slinches on Thursday February 11 2016, @12:36AM
I said that technology can help us keep up, not that personal responsibility is thrown out the window. It's still on you to stay ahead of the curve and save enough to cover retraining when the market changes.
Also, it shouldn't take years to learn a new marketable skill with the access to information we have now available through the internet.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday February 11 2016, @03:36AM
Also, it shouldn't take years to learn a new marketable skill with the access to information we have now available through the internet.
That's not enough. Robots also have that information. There won't be any *marketable* skills that only consist of doing what a robot can do. But plenty of people are employed doing just that. A draftsman cannot become the chief engineer not because he likes to do a job of a plotter, but because he has no talent for inventing things.
So what skills will be marketable? Science. Technology. Medicine. Human arts. And now think how many agricultural laborers can educate themselves to become theoretical physicists who successfully tackle the string theory, or biologists who understand the genome, or writers who can produce entertaining books, or artists who create wonderful paintings? This inevitably leads to meritocracy, where only the smartest have any say in the world - and everyone else becomes the filler, possibly material for high-end ghettos. One of many unpleasant aspects of a ghetto is realization that your life is a waste, and that you are not wanted. If you look at Diaspar as a counter-example, do not forget that those humans were artificially modified (by the city computer) to be content.
(Score: 2) by slinches on Thursday February 11 2016, @05:25AM
That is a horribly pessimistic view of your fellow man you've got there. Do you seriously think that (barring severe disability) most people don't have the capacity to find some way to generate enough value to provide for themselves? Even when every means of production is automated, things generated from human creativity will hold value if only for their imperfections. Nostalgia drives many markets and I don't see that disappearing from human nature anytime soon.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday February 11 2016, @06:39AM
My opinion comes from observation. Anywhere from 1/10 to 1/4 of the population of the USA (by different estimates) is unemployed or underemployed. What do they do "to provide for themselves" ? What *can* they do to provide for themselves, except activities that are so well illustrated in GTA? One of my acquaintances was receiving social security. I found him a job. He refused, explaining that if he takes the job then the social security benefits will be cut or disappear altogether... and if he cannot hold that job then he has to reestablish them from the very beginning, which is risky, and he has a family to feed. The government check is seen as a more dependable source of income! If you believe that unemployed people are such a great source of man-made items and other wanted goods, then where are they? I do not see any. People lie on a couch and watch TV. Every week of such "activity" drops your employability by 50% - primarily because it robs you of the energy and the initiative that active work requires. Maybe I'm using too wide a brush, but that's what I have seen.
things generated from human creativity will hold value if only for their imperfections
Imperfections that are so easily programmed into any robot? I don't think so. Perhaps I will value the desk that I handcrafted, but I'm afraid you won't like it at all :-)
Nostalgia drives many markets and I don't see that disappearing from human nature anytime soon
It's not in my nature, for example.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday February 12 2016, @07:58PM
Information availability isn't even close to being the limiting factor in learning a new skill. Let's try a thought experiment:
BAMF! your job is gone. Not just where you work, but everywhere. Whatever it is you do is just not wanted anymore. You and everyone in the world whose job description sounds like yours is now unemployed. Your rent is due in 2 weeks and the cupboard is bare. Have fun!
(Score: 2) by slinches on Friday February 12 2016, @10:43PM
BAMF! your job is gone. Not just where you work, but everywhere. Whatever it is you do is just not wanted anymore. You and everyone in the world whose job description sounds like yours is now unemployed. Your rent is due in 2 weeks and the cupboard is bare. Have fun!
I would do my best to anticipate such a scenario and learn a new skill before that happens. But if I was somehow instantly made obsolete by some unforeseen technological development, then I would live off savings until I can learn a new marketable skill. I have savings (as everyone should) to cover at least 6 months of my fixed outlays like mortgage, utilities and food. If necessary, that can be stretched by taking on part time work or odd jobs and potentially even selling my house or taking out a home equity loan. All together that should cover me for a few years, if needed, but I would plan to quickly research a career path where I could best make use of my existing skills and then learn whatever additional skills are necessary to become successful in that field. Worst case, I have to start from scratch and work my way through a technical college program for a couple of years. Anyway, I've planned ahead well enough to have built a safety net to cover such contingencies.
Don't you have a similar fallback plan?
(Score: 2) by sjames on Saturday February 13 2016, @12:55AM
I do, but I have enough ability to see others to realize that many cannot afford to put enough aside for 2 months, much less two years. But you should note, odd jobs at minimum wage won't even pay for your text books these days. That is, if there are any odd jobs to be had as automation expands.
So, with all your planning, you'll still be on the dole before you get your degree or certificate, or whatever you need (assuming you bend the rules enough to continue your education). And you better hope the new job doesn't BAMF before you rebuild your savings.