Rise of the robots: What advances mean for workers
With robots and other forms of automation becoming more technologically advanced there are many questions surrounding the fate of human workers that my be affected. I would like to think that for the jobs that are going to robot workers, there are also new or different jobs available to the human workers displaced by them. However, this does not always happen due to many real world factors not present in many of our Econ 101 teachings. If we are going to fully embrace robot workers and push for their innovation we also need to ensure that there are alternative jobs and training available for those getting replaced by synthetic workers.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39296096
I listened to a podcast on Freakonomics and Robert Gordon said that this is nothing new. He said robots have been replacing humans for generations. The major concern is that the quality of jobs is downshifting. What this means is the demand for skilled labor will decline as these jobs become menial in nature. So I think the concern is going to be a matter of who wants those jobs.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that robots could take some sort of human jobs. The only thing that I concerned about is that robots lack human ethics and cognitions of nuances of human tricks. After all, they are just products of technology and literally they are just machines. If they are going to take over many jobs, one thing needs to keep in mind that the chips and apps inserted to them have ethics focus on
ReplyDeleteI think that we need to take a more comprehensive view of progress. Yes, technology has progressed, and inevitably people will be displaced. But this technological progress has not been accompanied by an equal rise in living standards and opportunities for everyone in society. I think that more focus should be placed on every area of society advancing, not just one sector.
ReplyDeleteWe have to know that robots have been taking jobs for the past 10 or so years before we can start worrying about the advancement of robots. I agree with Shanice, in that we need to focus more on every area of society advancing and not only one part. I think focusing on one sector has prevented the American society from growing and prospering.
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