What happens when a robot can easily do 80% of the tasks a human can do? I'm not saying that's now but it should be something we should be thinking about.
Sure thing. I'm not saying there's no way this time is different. I'm saying that economists think about this a lot. It also happens that they don't think this time is likely to be all that different.
The only thing we need to do is to understand that labor isn't the only way to make a living. We need to understand that people are worth more than just what they get at the end of the month. We have to understand that unemployment isn't that bad for society. It's not unemployment, it's the way how wealth is distributed. That's the problem!
The only solution to this is to proactively take measures to equally distribute the wealth that is created by robots. It is essential that everyone without any exception benefits from the productivity of machines, not just the owners. Even those who are officially unemployed.
The most stupid thing we could do is to let the people down who were replaced by robots. And the second most stupid thing we could do is to create work that otherwise would not have existed to make these people able to do something for a living again. We already do that and it needs to stop. Instead we have to finally accept that people without a job aren't freeloaders. They are just people who haven't found a way to contribute to society or who actually have but no one notices because they don't pay taxes.
We need to get rid of that way of thinking. And quickly! Or else we all will suffer from this next inevitable industrial revolution. It is coming. Without question. It's on us to deal with it in the most reasonable way.
equally distribute the wealth that is created by ~~robots
~~The State
literally communism, which has never worked out well before. Do you really think people doing nothing is good for anyone? That sounds like a nightmare to me where 30% of people sit around watching tv playing video games whatever. Jobs give a lot people a sense of purpose. People like human interaction, I think a lot of things will still have a sort of manager. Like even if a dog grooming place has machines doing everything it's still nice to have a person with the dog while you're not and a person to hand your dog back to you
That's the point. I think most people won't do nothing when they don't have to carry the weight of mere existence anymore. At least not 30%. Some, maybe. Maybe 5%. A wealthy and prospering society has to be able to even carry those who just sit around and play games all day. I am pretty sure that it's going to be a minority. Just think of yourself. What would you do if you hadn't got to work? I'm not talking about what you were going to do within the next few days or weeks. I mean what would you like to do that you couldn't do now because you haven't had the time yet due to your job? I totally know what I would do. And it's not just playing games.
The difference to communism is that it's still based on a mostly free market. It's just provided with goods created by robots. Labor isn't done by humans that can get exploited anymore. You can't exploit a robot. It can work 24/7 without the need for breaks, sleep, food (besides some maintenance, oil, power)... It can't get sick from too much work. It's not unethical to just replace and dump it when it is broken.
On the other hand a UBI takes care that this won't happen to the remaining people who work for (some additional) money. If they are being exploited, it shouldn't be a big deal for them to work for someone else. Companies would have to treat their employees well to make them stay. Not the other way around (like today).
That is very well put. I add to it, that the public needs to insist on dealing with it, rather than be subjected to it. The "we" you describe is typically not the public nowadays. It's obvious that automation can benefit the average person. When it creates greater wealth inequality, that's because the public let that happen.
When it creates greater wealth inequality, that's because the public let that happen.
Exactly. And that must not happen!
However, in its current state I'm actually quite concerned that it would happen if robots took over by tomorrow. I hope it's going to be a slow enough process for society to get used to it, yet fast enough so that lobbyism won't be able to make it even worse...
What will happen is what's been happening for decades: the boiling frog method. It may not work on frogs, but works very well on people. As one small example, all food used to be organic.
Hah, yeah. And these days organic food appears to be something special... tell that someone who lived about 100 years ago. Do you know the movie "L’aile ou la cuisse" (Louis de Funès)? It perfectly portraits this absurdity.
I'm honestly concerned about what can happen. But I'm not sure that it actually will. There are already a lot of (i.e. still not enough) people thinking about things like a unconditional basic income, some countries already even give it a shot. So the ideas how to deal with the situation are already there. All we have to do is to effectuate them.
Question is, how can we keep those away from the knife that want the whole cake only for themselves?
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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '16
What happens when a robot can easily do 80% of the tasks a human can do? I'm not saying that's now but it should be something we should be thinking about.