[ExI] roboburgers to go

[spike]

From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of John Grigg
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 5:56 PM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] roboburgers to go

 

Spike wrote:
>>.Key: make the robo-burgers to where we can watch it being made and
noooobody visibly working anything, runs >24/7 and isn't it so easy to
imagine, HEY HOMELESS GUY, come on over here, I'll buy you a burger just to
>watch this marvelous thing run. 



>.And then, when A.I. replaces many many jobs in the American economy, even
engineering jobs, then you Spike, get to be the homeless guy! lol  Well,
except that you are working/retired, have a wife who also is an engineer,
and I'm sure you have your money carefully invested.  But the younger
generations of white collar workers may not be so fortunate...

I do hear ya Johnny.  It was insensitive of me to suggest making a
commercial about a homeless guy getting robo-burgers.  Good advertising is
edgy stuff.  The ad guys consider it a success if they offend about 5% of
the audience.  You can imagine playing the above ad on an outlet such as
(what's that music video thing that you young guys watch?)  MTV.  That
station is viewed by a crowd that is hard to offend.

I think I went off on a tangent: advertising rather than your point:
robo-burger will eliminate low-end jobs.  Here's the scoop John: my job was
eliminated by technology as well, and it was my own fault.  I invested years
into learning a bunch of controls techniques that were perfectly suited for
software.  Matlab and Simulink can do everything I did and a lot more, it
never gets tired, it doesn't ask for raises.  Shelly's job has a half-life I
would now estimate in months at best, for all the same reasons.  Our fault:
we should have foreseen that our specialized knowledge could be automated.
It was.

  

>.Spike, be grateful for the many things the universe blessed you with,
because many people do not get the brain power, health, loving family, or
good birth year, that you received.  The nameless homeless guy you mention,
was probably not nearly as blessed, despite whatever bad decisions he may
have made in his life.

I do hear you, my youthful companion.


>.And as for everyone saying, "Kickstarter!!!"  "Let's get rich!!!"  I
suspect the big corporations/franchises are not going to need your money as
they automate themselves.  And I bet venture capitalists have already poured
tons of money into robotics companies with the goal of automating fast food
restaurants.

Ja, that automated restaurant thing is still cool though.  I will eat there,
even if some big evil corporation is making a buttload of money while the
human former-burger flippers are turned out of one of the lowest-end jobs
our technologically advanced society can imagine.  I don't have the answers
to that.  My own memories of working in one of those places is of unbroken
misery, and I had the best job in the place.  As soon as I got a chance to
do beekeeping, I jumped on that like a ton of linemen on a loose football
and never looked back.  I did roofing in Florida in the summertime; even
that job was better than fast food, oy vey.

  
>.But it's nice to dream....  John

Ja by all means.  I have the notion that most factories will be automated
soon, and if so, I have a notion that we may get a lights-out PV factory.
Then I can imagine plenty of young people will be employed installing solar
panels on American rooftops.  We can argue energy all we want, but rooftops
everywhere are there, and they can accept solar panels.  Even if it isn't
the cheapest energy, it is energy.  

We are a species that needs to work.  We want to work.  So let's work at
that.  Why not?  Even if we want to argue there is plenty of
oil/coal/natural gas/thorium/pick your favorite, there is little downside to
getting humanity going on building rooftop solar everywhere while we wait
for the other stuff.  We want to work, and that's a task.

spike

 

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