To wonder what will happen when there are no iobs

[rainandfire]

When technology does everything, driving, deliveries, retail ... what will people do then?

I think that robots certainly WILL be able to care for the elderly one day. For a start there would be so much money in developing this type of robot that there's a huge motivation to invest in and create the technology.

The rate of change and development in terms of speed and what technology is able to do is exponential according to many experts, so we tend to underestimate these things.

Also I think health and medicine will keep us in better and better nick for longer so maybe less caring will be necessary.

And there aren't many cars over 10 years old on the road, let alone 20

There are a hell of a lot.

Jobs disappear in one area, more are created in another. Twas ever thus. People have been "banging on" about being replaced by automation for centuries. Wagon drivers complained about trains, horse breeders complained about cars, telegram workers complained about the telephone.

But in reality, big tech move slowly, and jobs change and adapt and when some disappear, new markets appear. This doom and gloom nonsense about all the jobs disappearing is neither true or useful

But - the experts agree this is what is going to happen.

There was someone on R4 yesterday saying - "yes, every time new technology has been developed, new jobs have appeared to replace those that have been lost and that will happen again. The difference, this time, is that those new jobs will also be done by computers".

Once you have the technology, it's not a big step to all new cars having it. That's the fastest phase
Actually it is a big step, because you have forgotten something really very important: people don't want it! Having the tech is only part of it, having a market for it is something else entirely.

But - the experts agree this is what is going to happen

No. Some experts think so, some don't. There is no particular consensus.

There are already robots made to look after the elderly. There was one in the recent Robots exhibition at the Science Museum.

Meet Asimo and friends

Also Nadine and other robots

You might want to read your own links.

For example, Honda's Asimo robot is an autonomous, humanoid robot that could help the elderly by getting them food or turning off lights

COULD. Not does. And turning off lights....its a 2.5 million dollar robot that could turn your light off and bring you food. Alexa plus Deliveroo can do that for you for a fraction of the cost.

Even in Japan where they are by far leading the way, its all experimental and incredibly limited.

Lweji
There was a driverless car accident which resulted in a fatality the car misread a white van as sky and accelerated the poor "driver" into it.
I get these things will be ironed out with testing and improvements of technology though. Its just sad that a life had to be lost for that to be recognised as an issue.

My concern with driverless cars is the feeling that they need a driver to take over if it goes wrong. Thats not human nature, your either driving or not driving, but maybe thats why its being marketed that way so that people feel reassured that theres someone in "control".

Many jobs have disappeared and will disappear. Burger chefs for example, this is now being done by robots at a big American chain.
Shop assistants, drivers etc. But in other areas there is huge demand for workers. My brother’s company finds it so difficult to find one particular skill set that the starting salary is £120K. I

It is very worrying. We will be the masters of our own demise.

Once there are plenty of automatons and people to service them, the elite will cull the surplus population.
We are all sleepwalking into a dystopian nightmare!

hotbuttered,

But these care robots will not lose their temper and will feel no frustration.....no one will be shaken or slapped.

Even in Japan where they are by far leading the way, its all experimental and incredibly limited.

Yes but this stuff would have sounded like witchcraft 100 years ago or so. The pace of change is phenomenal.

PoisonousSmurf that's a terrifying thought.

This has already happened during the Industrial Revolution, and generally it was a good thing (I for one am enjoying typing this on a computer rather than being in a field doing some kind of manual agricultural task right now).
That said, it did take quite a lot of social adjustment, rioting, and exploitation on the way, and the environment was healthier when there were more fields and fewer factories.

I don't know but I wouldn't trust a robot to cut my hair or give me a back massage. Surely there will still be SOME normal jobs?? We hope?

and the environment was healthier when there were more fields and fewer factories

Obesity was a bit lower too (I just ate a piece of fried bread too) (two pieces) (and a banger)

But these care robots will not lose their temper and will feel no frustration.....no one will be shaken or slapped

No, but they will go wrong and have glitches and people will be dropped, crushed and handled wrongly.

The pace of change is phenomenal

The point I have been trying to make is that is not nearly as fast as people think, or like to think. You're all making predictions based on faulty assumptions.

A recent US survey found that 70% of people feared the advent of technology, and the idea of robots taking over their jobs. You all here would be in that 70% it would seem. Yet you seem to think that everyone will be dying to buy driverless cars and service robots the minute they can? It doesn't make any sense.
Like I said, the tech is only part of it. You also have to have the market to buy it, and have it make sense from a cost/benefit point of view. The tech is still a long way off, but the rest is even further behind.

makeourfuture mental health was ALOT better as well.

makeourfuture mental health was ALOT better as well

Before the industrial revolution? Evidence please.

I somehow doubt that being a peasant serf tied to one small bit of land for your entire life, eating a bland diet of local grain and vegetable, bathing yearly and having no teeth, watching half your children die in infancy and relying on leeches and prayer in place of healthcare really made for good mental health.

Come on, really?

having no teeth

Before mass sugar consumption, tooth decay was less of a problem.

local grain and vegetable

It is what the doctor suggests now.

Now the lack of antibiotics.....one rusty nail was all it took.

It isn't what the dr suggests now. A peasant serf diet would make you ill in no time, it lacks vitamins and minerals.

Vegetables lack vitamins and minerals?

No dear, the local vegetables you would have access to, with no imports and only what was seasonal, in the UK, would not give you a full range of vitamins and minerals.
Imagine turnips and barley and onions every single day. No meat, possibly no dairy. And not enough of any of it either.

That is odd isn't it. The history books I read show times like the great warming period when populations exploded.

Who knew?