When The Robots Arrive And The Elites Don't Need Us As Much What Will Happen?

[ChrisIB 11]

As artificial intelligence and robotics replace humans in the work force, the elites won't need our labour as much as they used to.

As resources dwindle and the population rises might we be surplus to requirements?

A stretch, but perhaps in the not too distant future there will be a manipulated war or pandemic to thin the herd.

[The Joker 10]

There are two possible scenarios I can think of:

 

1) AI and robotics will never replace humans due to the huge cost of creating, installing, configuring and maintaining robots.

It's far easier and cheaper to employ some Eastern European immigrants on the minimum wage instead.

 

Or the opposite:

 

2)  AI and robotics become so cheap that any human without any useful or marketable skills for the workplace (or didn't go to the correct schools) will starve to death.

 

 

[Hotmale 1954 201]

Basic Income will come in to being. The Movement has/is already being trialled in various countries.

The plan is, the Government will pay everyone of working age enough to run a household for basic needs. Food, heating, clothing and utilities. £300 a week to run your house? £150 to you, and £150 to your partner. On death, the survivor gets the other's money.

Should you need more money for some reason (other than greed) you will go to work for it. Of the jobs available, the vast majority will be shared. You may work a day a week, or a day a month. You won't be allowed to work too many days, as there will be someone waiting to do that job to earn needed money. The emphasis is on 'needed money' here, not 'wanted money'. In a few years time, most people will not have their own car, but will employ a driverless Government car to take the journey. All jobs available will be crucial jobs (to improve structures, environments, health and well being, that sort of thing). Practically nothing will be done just for profit. There'll be very little for anyone to buy.

You'll have to imagine what a Mobile Phone or a TV will look like and cost in 30 or 40 years time. Will we be jetting off on holiday? Will there be aeroplanes?

Fashion will be a thing of the past. Beauty Parlours and other body enhancement parlours will also be things of the past.

As life progresses, people will volunteer doing things to enhance the Community. Some people will go in to particular work just to pass the time, and over time, the place will be running like clockwork, with no one homeless, no one starving, no Millionaires and Billionaires. There'll be no need to go to war, or to have WOMD.

As people stop trying to be richer than 'them down the road' and we all appreciate what we've got (roughly the same as everyone else) and the race to be richest diminishes, the world will slow down, and we'll all be better for it.

The Government will run practically all the businesses, will get the profits from them, and will pay us all to do next to nowt.

Everyone will be required to do some work, idle scroungers won't be tolerated.

It will end the unemployment problem, drugs problem, the homeless problem and the criminal problem.

What's not to like?

Embrace it (for your kids if nowt else) and get those Robots doing your jobs as soon as your Boss will install 'em. They can't come quick enough.

It'll be wonderful.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Hotmale 1954

[carosio 186]

Reminds me of a well-known saying among Russians back in communist times: "they pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work".

[ECCOnoob 1,020]

I wouldn't get too over excited.

 

Development and advancement of technology is indeed a rapid pace.  Implementation, affordability and social acceptance isn't.

 

We may have vast advances in computing technology and the internet.  In my own business industry I hear annual horror stories of thousands on the brink of  losing their jobs when the computers are smarter than humans etc, but of course the reality is very different.   I work in a world where even in 2020 email correspondence is not deemed "accepted service" and visit courtrooms that still don't have Wi-Fi.   I work with accountants and civil service organisations who are still using vast amounts of paper records.  I go to conferences with other law people to listen two so-called experts banging on about the future of artificial intelligence that is going to transform our industry and then go back to an office that still has a team of filing clerks - just like places had when I started 20+ years ago.

 

Yes, the robot orientated giants such as Amazon are "killing" the retail sector however there are ever-increasing protests about slave labour, unethical supply chains and financial rule bending is seeing a wave of backlash.  People are demanding back the more traditional days of shopping local, with local production, ethically and locally made products.  In certain sectors we are actually seeing a decline in traditional big giant retail models to be replaced with small, independent, crafted, bespoke options in both retail and food service.

 

Yes we could all be travelling around in a robotic cars and click of an app on demand transport services but given the recent backlash against uber and their complete ban from Central London licensing that is going to be much more slower to be adopted than people think.  Again, the driverless technology might exist but until they stop running people over or bumping into things there's going to be huge numbers of sceptics.

 

Ask for world travel we're going backwards!   50 years ago the bright new future was supersonic.  It was going to be fantastic, stepping out on the other side of the world in a matter of hours. 

 

We were going to be wizzing across continents on high-speed trains. We'd all have new neighbours as our world became smaller and smaller.   Fat chance now.   

 

For those of us who still have the audacity to take a holiday abroad once a year we are going to become flight shamed by all the environmentalists.  Just like smoking and drinking it will simply become more and more socially unacceptable to the point where people will be nagged out of travelling.   God help any technology company who dares to invent a faster method of travelling the globe.  Unless they can prove it will be fuelled only on the mung bean farts of a vegan fascist green party member extinction rebellion chairperson - any such transport proposal will never get off the drawing board stage.

 

As for high speed rail dreams, well thanks the protect a tree, save the worms and 1001 other kinds of NIMBY protestors we will be lucky if we even get the first part of it done.  

 

In summary the world of Metal Mickey is a long time off yet.

Edited January 11, 2020 by ECCOnoob

[RollingJ 1,999]

@ECCOnoobThanks for a common sense and informative  response.  If I were inclined to do so much typing 😀, I would have said very much the same.

[Longcol 597]

9 hours ago, ChrisIB said:

As artificial intelligence and robotics replace humans in the work force, the elites won't need our labour as much as they used to.

As resources dwindle and the population rises might we be surplus to requirements?

A stretch, but perhaps in the not too distant future there will be a manipulated war or pandemic to thin the herd.

The Forum seems to have fallen into a timewarp and gone back ten years when our "conspiracy theorists" used to come out with this sort of stuff regularly - only they used "useless eaters" for "surplus to requirements" 😎

 

 

 

[andyofborg 11]

generally, all these sorts of scenarios end in soylent green or T800s

 

or eighth day

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ALdL8oV_sY

 

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by andyofborg

[Dardandec 32]

They will be taxed to the same level/or similar as it would cost to employ a person to do that job by governments. That wealth would then be redistributed. Good luck to any tech firm who can create AI anyway near good enough to do my job and if they do they can have it with pleasure. 

[staninoodle 173]

I wouldnt worry too much,this planet has already gone beyond salvation,just sit back and enjoy the end game as capitalism burns everything to dust,us included

[apelike 10]

Unfortunately there seem to be too many people being taken in by the AI/Robotic hype of the past decade and are willing to believe it to be a real threat. 

[retep 68]

18 hours ago, andyofborg said:

generally, all these sorts of scenarios end in soylent green or T800s

 

or eighth day

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ALdL8oV_sY

 

 

Close, and not the best name for the product, Solein

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/29/plan-to-sell-50m-meals-electricity-water-air-solar-foods