Robots and computers to take over blue-collar AND white-collar professions??

[Smitty]

A friend of mine is a high school teacher, and I have suggested that he assign his students to read and report on the excellent recent book, "Rise of the Robots" by Martin Ford, c. 2015, a survey of all of the latest human-substitute technologies as they are appearing in a great many professions and trades. Ford refers to the common assertion that technical revolutions end up producing more jobs than they eliminate, but makes a detailed case why this time its different.

Having read "Rise," then (as I also advised my teacher friend) read the June 4, 2015 review in Forbes magazine by a contributor, Steve Demming, who disagrees completely with Ford's conclusions. I found Demming's arguments cogent but not fully persuasive. I'm an old man so none of this is critical for me, but you young guys maybe should think hard about this stuff, because the changes are coming faster than even experts in the field were predicting only a few years ago. Don't find yourself training your non-human replacement and complaining that nobody told you it was coming. I feel bad for you guys; I grew up in a simpler world.

[runabout333]

One can dictate his/her paycheck having the education to program those robots.

[Smitty]

A trend in high-end robotics is to design them for self-learning, self-programming, and as with all of this tech, the rate of application is increasing ever-faster, with change outpacing the experts' predictions.

[csh12M]

Robots are already old tech... if you really want to blow your mind about whats coming check out Jason Silva on You Tube and watch Shots of Awe videos.

[Harold8]

There was an article on Facebook from Mike Roe, saying that there are and will be a need for tradesmen, jobs that robots can't do! But there is little being done to get people into those professions!

[Smitty]

Well, in the welding trades we keep hearing that there's a shortage of welders . . . but we don't see the pay rates going up . . .

[Harold8]

I guess need and pay aren't related!

[ZUL8TR]

The movie" I Robot" might just happen? Not too far off the realm of probability is a movie from 1970 " Colossus the Forbin Project" quite prophetic when too much power is given to a computer that gets its way.

Supposedly robots will provide more jobs and allow humans more freedom for loftier pursuits as human IQ increases, what? One form of Evolution I suppose!

We should be careful what we wish for!

First I heard about Ford's book and have to read it.

[KURPS]

How many wagon builders, coopers, blacksmiths, draftsmen, gas jockeys and so on are still working? Come on snowflake, changes are in the wind. Former automation design engineer.

[Smitty]

According to the writer, the state of artificial intelligence is advancing so fast that maybe design engineers will become part of your list. Well, as one who has spent many an hour repairing parts that were broken due to poor design, that might not be a wholly bad development. Whatever, as one who saw the country sixty years ago, if I could go back to those times I would do it with no regrets; for the most part, yes with exceptions, those were better times, in a better country, with better citizens. As it is, I'm an analog guy in a digital world.

[KURPS]

I'll pack your bags, snowflake.

[Ram4x4]

One thing I've always had absolute faith in is man's desire, ability, and willingness to advance technology. The sentiments professed by today's older generations concerning these advancements are pretty similar to the ones my parents espoused, and grandparents too. In that respect, not much has changed.

Quality of citizens and the general societal mindset are, I believe, only partially related to technology. We are all products of our upbringing combined with varied tastes, likes, dislikes and opinions formed by as many personal experiences in life as their are people on earth. Different local and world events also bear on outlooks and affect ideology as much as classical definitions. Look what happened right after 911, and contrast it to today, for example.

Technology is certainly not without its issues. As with any man-made device, it is subject to fail, to not work correctly, and so on. I'm a lot less bothered by any advancements in things like AI or processing power as I am with the advances being made in genetics. We can already clone animals (and some have probably already tried, if not successfully, to clone humans). Scientists have created artificial life in the laboratory, albeit bacterial and the mechanisms that cause us to age have been identified. They already know how to create the enzyme that will effectively repair the human chromosomes indefinitely (meaning our cells will continue to divide and repair themselves indefinitely instead a limited number of times), but there is one small hitch, that enzyme is a super fuel for cancer. Cure cancer, and we already have the means to increase our life spans 10 fold, 100 fold, or more.

When it comes to medical science and genetics in particular, we hear about the good possibilities, but we rarely hear about the dark side...what sorts of experiments, or ideas are these genetic and medical advances being applied to?

[ZUL8TR]

There will always be checks and balances in nature, it's the natural way of the earth. Population stabilization depends on resources available to sustain it, resources down population down, regardless of animal, insect, bacteria or human war, famine, disease are stabilizers. To live 5x, 10x or more will probably stress the resources. Who knows maybe the superior form of life who have access to these life lengthening genetic advances will eliminate the less fortunate?

Insects may rule !

Robert Malthus theory comes to mind, in some form.

Over population can bring misery and a life of mediocrity and fighting fr food to survive.

It is happening in some places already.

Perhaps the only happy way to live longer is with the love ones in your life being there.

Man can and has gotten ahead of himself with what he thought was right.

I like progress but we need to be careful how we step forward for it, some things are better left alone.