Automation: Where did all the jobs go?!

[Griddlelol]

They only need 1 more robot to handle complaints

 

 

[SuperBiasedMan]

I really think having at least one human liaison would be best (best in terms service quality), to basically make sure everything robots can't anticipate runs smoothly (customer service, undetectable mechanical faults etc). Even with relatively menial tasks, robots are only good at specific skills we teach them. Barring significant change in robo power, robots will know how to do their job/jobs and nothing else. Computers generally only handle exceptional circumstances where they've been taught to anticipate them, while humans are much more flexible.

[Twig]

Should someone stand next to every vending machine, too?

 

Like a vending machine, someone would just be called in to fix any potential issues. Machines are sophisticated enough to do the calling themselves, if they detect something wrong, and in the vent that detection fails, have a button someone can push to page the repair man.

 

You really don't need a human standing there. But even if you did, that's one human to replace a dozen. But... you really don't.

[SuperBiasedMan]

Vending machines don't scale to bigger sizes and product ranges super well. And they already require customer service phonelines and to be restocked by humans. Also, I don't know if using a vending machine is the most satisfying hassle free experience.

[Twig]

Taco automation will be infinitely more sophisticated than a regular vending machine, though...

[dibs]

It will more likely just be 15 vending machines and a microwave stuck together. 

[Twig]

Basically.

[Dewar]

The difference with a vending machine is that it's hourly cash throughput is fairly small. If a vending machine dies and doesn't work for a couple of days, or craps out an extra snickers bar on occasion, it's no big deal. Something the size of a fast food restaurant could lose a lot of money quick if it were to malfunction, so I'd expect they'd have one person there to keep an eye on things. Thinking Shadowrun style, I suppose you could have a central monitoring station with cameras in a bunch of different stores with one human able to press the button to close a store and automatically send out a technician?

[Twig]

The Shadowrun example is closer to what the reality will be, I think, yes.

 

You're all really stuck on this vending machine comparison! I regret making it. This shit is going to be billions of times more sophisticated than a regular vending machine. These aren't cheap spinning metal wires that sometimes fail to push a bag of chips off the shelf. These are robots with arms that use learning algorithms to figure out the best way to efficiently make a taco, or whatever else. The purpose of these things IS to take the human out of the equation altogether. It will happen, eventually. Obviously it won't just be like you wake up one day and all human workers are replaced by robots. It'll be gradual. But there will come a day when, yes, you can walk into a fast food restaurant and order food without any other humans involved.

[Griddlelol]

We have a vending machine at work with a laser sensor so it never doesn't give you your mars bar. It occasionally poops out double your input if you press return cash without buying something.

[Twig]

So what you're saying is if I find your vending machine, I'll be rich.

[SuperBiasedMan]

The Shadowrun example is closer to what the reality will be, I think, yes.

 

You're all really stuck on this vending machine comparison! I regret making it. This shit is going to be billions of times more sophisticated than a regular vending machine. These aren't cheap spinning metal wires that sometimes fail to push a bag of chips off the shelf. These are robots with arms that use learning algorithms to figure out the best way to efficiently make a taco, or whatever else. The purpose of these things IS to take the human out of the equation altogether. It will happen, eventually. Obviously it won't just be like you wake up one day and all human workers are replaced by robots. It'll be gradual. But there will come a day when, yes, you can walk into a fast food restaurant and order food without any other humans involved.

 

I just don't believe that it's inevitable we can make machines that good. It assumes there's no threshold, that the myth of progress being forever forwards and upwards is true. I think things will become a lot more automated but I don't believe that everything can be made to function correctly as a computerised system with almost negligible human input.

 

That's not to say that automation isn't going to heavily effect jobs. I literally removed a job from my workplace. I wrote a small script that does the job an intern used to have to do, and this stuff is just gonna keep happening as we do make better computers.

[Spenny]

The upper limits of technology is a greater philosophical argument than what needs to be addressed when talking about automation. See, I'm not sure you could make the argument that a Taco Bell couldn't be automated with today's technology. As I understand it, most fast food has it's large component ingredients produced in off site factories, and it's the job of the fast food employee to heat up and assemble those ingredients. I think it would be well within the reach of today's technology to turn a Taco bell kitchen into an automated Taco Bell mini factory. The threat of automation isn't really a question of possibility, but a matter of how long it takes today's tech to be miniaturized and generalized to a point where the Taco Bell mini factory is the obvious choice over a human.

[Dewar]

It's also a mater of R&D and maintenance costs versus just paying a flunky minimum wage. I'm sure we'll get to the point that makes sense, either from a rising wages or lowering cost of machines, but I don't think we're there yet.

[Erkki]

I'm sure there are more low-hanging fruits for massive automation than fast-food, such as transportation, supermarket registers, ??? Although for some reason in my supermarkets I see very few people prefer the automated ones. Maybe because of that they are so much faster for me to use. like I just put stuff from shelf-to-bag using a hand-held scanner and then only have to pay at the register. There's no queue and It's so insanely fast compared to a usual register queue that I really don't get why everyone isn't using that. There's a contract you have to sign , maybe that's the reason.

[dibs]

Have you guys played factorio?

[Dewar]

I have, and I like it a lot

[Twig]

https://medium.com/basic-income/deep-learning-is-going-to-teach-us-all-the-lesson-of-our-lives-jobs-are-for-machines-7c6442e37a49#.4hbdwax7s

 

Hey look an article about this junk.

 

Talks about the AlphaGo matches and what that means for the future. Haven't read the whole thing yet. Might be bunk, but probably not.

[Gaizokubanou]

That article does good job laying out the problems.

 

I personally think we are just completely fucked though.  It's a race against basic universal income vs automation in military technology (to the point where 'popular opinion' no longer holds any value when it comes to practical military concerns and well you get the rest) and the latter is really kicking ass so far.

[SecretAsianMan]

Speaking of fast food automation, Dominos introduces autonomous delivery robots

[Twig]

Oh that's awesome.

 

I mean, not in the context of this thread, but I still can't help but being excited upon hearing about things like this!

[Mangela Lansbury]

How long until the Dominos pizzabots are equipped with flamethrowers? You know, for "on the go pizza cooking"

[Twig]

Depends on when the commercial drones start coming equipped with missiles.

[Dewar]

Those aren't missiles, just packages that are delivered really really fast.

[Twig]

Now I'm imagining the Dominos bots revolting and using pizza with liquid hot cheese as weapons.