When Robots Steal Our Jobs

I decided to browse the BBC website looking for some form of audio entertainment so I could listen while doing chores--video entertainment isn't ideal sometimes, since it requires looking at the screen.

I stumbled across a podcast on their show, Analysis, discussing how robots are taking over more and more jobs. The show is very good at covering a variety of angles, however. They don't just stick to the "robots will put us out of work" tune, but also explore concepts like the fact that people have always been lamenting how technology puts people out of work, and yet we simply keep finding new work to do. They also discuss whether or not robotics will change the nature of capitalism as it changes the fundamental relationship of exchanging labour for money. And then what effect that may have on our political systems.

A few of my own personal views on the matter:

• The sharing economy is going to be critical, by which I mean companies like Uber and Airbnb. If people become less able to work for money, we need to each create and share our own products and services.
• Same goes for 3d printing and local manufacturing.
• Same goes for agriculture. Aeroponics and vertical farming may make the growing of local food easier, cheaper, and healthier.
• I don't believe humans will be replaced by machines. I believe we're just watching a long, continuous integration of humanity and the tools we wield. I am currently sitting at a computer, writing a blog which can be accessed over the internet, and displaying photos taken with my phone. How many jobs would there be if we were still cavemen? How many people would there need to be to make ink and leather so we could tattoo the words and images? How many runners would there be to distribute those scraps of leather? And that's without counting features like the fact that this blog is searchable. In short, my blog is already a massively automated factory.

There's so much more to cover than a few bullet points can encapsulate, but it's fun to think about. And there's no doubt these things will continue to change the way we live.