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Will Humanoid Robots Take All the Jobs by 2050?
Anonymous writes "Marshall Brain (the guy who started HowStuffWorks) has published an article claiming that robots will take half the jobs in the U.S. by 2050. Some of his predictions: real computer vision systems by 2020, computers with the CPU power and memory of the human brain by 2040, completely robotic fast food restaurants in 2030 (which then unemploy 3.5 million people), etc. It's a pretty astounding article. My question: How many people on /. think he is right (or even close - let's say he's off by 10 or 20 years)? Or is he full of it?"
there will be robots.
Please, no more mod points. I only abuse them.
I thought all our fast food workers already were robots.
-n
The question is will the robots be imported from India ?
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
But, when I take Elroy and Judy to school, I'll want to do so in a round flying car. Come see me about the flying car, then we'll talk robots.
/.. I'm hard at work sticking it to Cogswell!!!
No, Mr. Spacely, I'm not posting to
By 2060, half of THOSE jobs will be outsourced to robots in India!
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Positions on the Slashdot editorial staff will be filled by six rhesus monkeys walking on the keyboards of an equal number of Pentium XVII boxes running the newest Debian release, which will be release 3.2
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
I, for one, welcome our new robot masters. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted online personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground titanium mines.
But seriously, any work that can be done better by a machine should be done by a machine and not a man, otherwise the man becomes a machine.
One of the biggest problems in the future will most likely be finding creative and fulfilling jobs for the masses. That is until the machines take over and kill us all.
Fuck the whole *open up new jobs* thing. I want to be able to buy my own humanoid robot and then have it go to work for me while I get paid. THAT is labor saving right there. Make ownership of robots past a certain complexity level illegal for businesses, reserve the right for individuals. Then you can save up for your very own robot that will go to work for you, freeing up valuable loafing around time.
Kintanon
Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
"...who wants to make idle chit-chat with some register jockey?"
That, my friend, depends entirely on how attractive she is. Don't tell me: You've never played "Rate the Register Girl"?
I take a pass by the registers on the way in, then rank my top three choices by register/aisle number. If I'm going to suffer the pain of shopping, I might as well make it a tad more enjoyable by flirting and chatting up the cute cashier.
Yeah, no kidding. Robots are always boozing, carousing, gambling, and saying things like "bite my shiny metal ass". Who needs that kind of grief?
What??? I can't get an IT job because they are all going to India?
Oh well, I guess I'll just go flip burgers.
WHAT!!??? Robots have taken THOSE jobs!?
DAMNIT!!!
Abaddon: An Xbox 360 Indie game
Because robots are lazy no-good techno-molestors who can't be trusted? If you're going to build robots, humans are the right ones to do it.
XML causes global warming.
customer: Two burgers with extra ketchup and musterd please
HAR(Heuristic Algorithmic Restaurant)9000: I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't let have that....
Jeroen
Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
... and a Quarter Pounder meal....
.. and a McFlurry please.
Um, I'd like a Big Mac and a coke.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion....
Ok
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
That's very nice
Time to die. Oh, and would you like fries with that? *evil smile*
Not so live from the time warped news room:
... An anonymous "Curch of technology" terrorest has elimnated half the jobs of rock wielding nail pounders by inventing the hammer. Experts predict that this will spell the end of the world. Spokesman for the ROWNPAW (ROck Wielding Nail Pounders Association of the World) had this to say: "The ROWNPAW will not stand for this Coperate greed coming out of the Curch of technology, We plan to strike to prevent adoptation of this job killing device. Its unfair, and this 'hammer' has no regard for ROWNPAW workers who work their butt off to earn their keep" The church of Technology has denied being greedy and one church spokesman had this to say: " Its just seemed like a good idea... thats all".
... Germany lost 75% percent of its manuscript workforce today as inventor Johann Gutenberg unvailed his massive project to print bibles using moveable text. An Industry leader of the MIGOG (Manuscript Industry Group Of the Germany) issued a statement: "These printing presses are merely tools of copyright pirates. All these people want to do is illeagally print Bibles and sell them on the black market. We plan to subpenea the Reformation for the names off all offenders." The industry leader also made mention of the pending patent lawsuit from a Chinese group with a substancial patent portfolio, supposedly including a patent for a movable type machine. Nastrodamas has issued a cryptic statement presumeably that implies that the end of the world is near.
This just in, Breaking news from BCE 7000
Breaking news from CE (AD) 1455
Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni
Good god man, what are you saying? I for one welcome our new robot masters with open arms.
What's worse is when you try this tactic--and who doesn't--and an ugly slob takes over the till before you get there.
At my local supermarket, one of the guys there is about 40, and talks to me all the time about videogames ever since he heard me talking about PS2 or something to one of my friends while waiting in line once. He wears Pokemon badges on his vest, and about pees his pants when talking about how far he's gotten in the newest RPG. Oh really, you picture your imaginary dwarf in your imaginary world looks like Lucky from my box of Lucky Charms? That's fantastic!
...And one more thing - I read slashdot too you asshole.
robots are attacking the elderly and stealing their medicine! Once they have you in their iron grip there is no escape. Let's focus on the problem at hand people, not some crazy speculation about what the robots might do next.
But... if we must speculate I have to say that our current scorched earth strategy is brilliant. Hopefully by reducing the # of jobs available and moving them around to the remotest reaches of the planet the robots will lose interest and will stick to stealing old people's medicine.
We must also immediately pass legislation that makes it illegal to use the elderly as bait for the robots. Even clones of the elderly.
...and robots to talk on /. about it. whoa....
What's the point in having a fast food robot serving you if the food still sucks?
Ive seen spooky video of Industrial-Robot manufacturing facilities in Japan with THOUSANDS of robots assembling their own.
Repeat after me: anime isn't real..
Thank you.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Computers control the actual braking on your ABS brakes.
Man, those now out of work ABS brake workers must be pretty pissed off. What job can a 3 inch tall guy get ?
"Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
Then in 150 years the spoiled American robots who will get an hour a day of down-time, premium oil and regular maintanence, will be replaced with Indian robots who work 24 hours a day, grind along on half the oil, and work till their gears crumble.
Poor little American robots. Have we no humanity?
'The wars of tomorrow will be fought by tiny robots on the tops of very high mountains. Your job will be to build and maintain these robots.'
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. -Oscar Wilde
This scares me. I mean it's going to happen. Look at how all the year-2000 predictions came true. All the girls love my flying car (it's an old classic model) and I've got a great under-sea view of the lagoon from the living room of my home in the Coral Valley underwater bio-sphere. I really like my job doing moon tours - I mean it could be worse. At least I don't work at a rayon-undergarment recycling center. Yep, I hope things stay just the way they are now.
-=-=-=-=- osjedi uses Debian GNU/Linux. -=-=-=-=-
What makes you think robots to talk on /. about it whoa...
How do you feel about robots to talk on /. about it?
If the image in people's minds is an android like tin man with a spatula in its hand, this would be pretty sophisticated. An automated hamburger preparing device tailored to that purpose would be a simple proposition to implement using 1976 controls. The barriers would be cultural
It would be refreshing to not have to watch some pimply kid try to figure out what coins to take out of the drawer to make 48 cents (after the register computed $5.00 - $4.52.
If ignorance is bliss why is everyone so damn pissed off all the time?
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.