{"id":6925,"date":"2016-06-08T20:36:28","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T19:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=6925"},"modified":"2016-06-08T20:43:45","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T19:43:45","slug":"robots-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=6925","title":{"rendered":"Robots part II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Enon_robot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-6930 size-medium\" title=\"By Ms. President (Flickr User) - http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/granick\/211744073\/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=6218331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Enon_robot-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"By Ms. President (Flickr User) - http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/granick\/211744073\/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=6218331\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Enon_robot-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Enon_robot.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>Up until now robots and automation has been peripheral to most of our lives -insufficient technological progress in AI and globalisation have saved us from it.\u00a0 However this does look about to change.\u00a0 Just last Saturday the Guardian magazine did a test where a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2016\/jun\/04\/man-v-machine-robots-artificial-intelligence-cook-write\" target=\"_blank\">robot<\/a> painted a portrait, made a meal and wrote something.<\/p>\n<p>Lets consider some of the areas that are under consideration for automation. Whilst since I wrote in part 1 McDonalds has rowed back on its robot threat other restaurants are trialling robots.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The UK is going to allow driver-less vehicles on its roads. At first these will require &#8220;drivers&#8221; but as the technology gets accepted?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Its no secret that Amazon is working on full automation for its warehouses. Also it wants to use drones to deliver its parcels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The estimate is 40% of all jobs could be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/careers\/2016\/may\/11\/robot-jobs-automated-work\" target=\"_blank\">automated<\/a>.\u00a0 What are the implications of this?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From 2000 globalisation was all the rage and on everyone&#8217;s lips (at least all politicians). It was seen as a good thing and in many ways it was.\u00a0 The transfer of many jobs to the developing world lifted millions out of poverty in a little over a decade. Whilst these jobs were lost in the West the price of almost everything fell (apart from oil).\u00a0 This was in a way supposed to keep the masses happy, cheap consumer goods.\u00a0 However three things meant this led to a false sense of security for those who unthinkingly supported neo-liberalism.\u00a0 Firstly median incomes had not been rising for the great majority of people for decades only for top 1%.\u00a0 Whilst consumer goods were falling so much in price this was is acceptable.\u00a0 Second, a whole set of jobs was lost and and the jobs that replaced them were not of the same quality.\u00a0 Third rising energy prices (and therefore food prices) began to make a relatively falling standard of living apparent.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008 came the global crash.\u00a0 The Western electorate reacted in a quite surprising way. The crash could firmly be blamed on right wing policies, but the left with some slight exceptions (such as in Spain) has struggled.\u00a0 Instead in almost every democracy the electorate has turned to new often nationalistic parties.\u00a0 (I see Donald Trump as the latest example of this.)\u00a0 These parties promise much deliver little and blame the &#8220;other&#8221; for all their &#8220;nations&#8221; problems.\u00a0 The fuss over immigration and migration is not really about immigration but about a lack of well paid secure jobs.<\/p>\n<p>This is what worries me about Robots.\u00a0 Arguably the Western electorate has in most ways behaved with remarkable forbearance since 2008.\u00a0 Whilst they have voted for some extreme parties, these parties are either not in power or have done little damage so far. But what if 40% of all jobs disappear if not overnight over a decade or so?\u00a0 Can these jobs be regenerated in other as yet to be thought of ways?\u00a0 Maybe but its a big ask and how will the electorate react?\u00a0 One solution that is increasingly brought up when robots are mentioned is the universal basic income (<a href=\"https:\/\/makewealthhistory.org\/2016\/04\/12\/ten-arguments-for-a-citizens-income\/\" target=\"_blank\">citizens income<\/a>).\u00a0 Whilst I\u2019m a big fan of this idea there is one reason why I do not see it as a solution to the challenge of automation. Robots do not pay tax.\u00a0 At least not at the moment, although they may have to.<\/p>\n<p>Its possible an international backlash may stop this.\u00a0 Its also possible as I wrote in part 1 that the robots\u2019 energy use* may stop their widespread implementation.\u00a0 This whole business raises questions over how far should economic efficiency go,\u00a0 a good deal of ethical problems and issues over energy use. However, at the moment we are sleep walking into this without any real discussion.<\/p>\n<p>Neil<\/p>\n<p>* something I\u2019ve found impossible to find any data on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Up until now robots and automation has been peripheral to most of our lives -insufficient technological progress in AI and globalisation have saved us from it.\u00a0 However this does look about to change.\u00a0 Just last Saturday the Guardian magazine did &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=6925\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,6,1],"tags":[194],"class_list":["post-6925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economics","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-robots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - 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