Shouldn't Automation Be a Good Thing??

a reply to: JoshuaCox

It's the method by which capitalism will commit suicide. That's my take on it for the time being.

originally posted by: ksiezyc
a reply to: JoshuaCox

It's the method by which capitalism will commit suicide. That's my take on it for the time being.

I think that is prob the case..

A society where profit was the primary goal was prob doomed anyway.

originally posted by: Blue Shift

originally posted by: SpeakerofTruth
You think the monetary system is just going to disappear? How do you propose to account for the job loss automation will incur? No, I don't view it in a very positive light at all.

The thing is, human beings are built to constantly work, search for food or avoid predators. Our bodies are just not designed to sit around all day. So we might eventually free ourselves from work once we develop smart enough robots, but that will just mean we have to go to the gym more often and we'll lose our toughness.

No question, but since pro athletes are constantly getting bigger and stronger. It might not be as bad as it may seem.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

It's funny how the greatest development for capitalism is also its downfall. Based on current theory I expect either communism will be the next system of governance and economy or corporation shall be the new government. It would mean essentially the same thing, only question being, does the economy take over the government or does the government take control of the economy?

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Yes it should be a good thing. It is a good thing too in many ways. Making robots and computers and machines to do the work for and with us is exactly why we made them in the first place. That's their purpose and we should be proud that we actually accomplished such a thing too.

The problem however is not them but the fact we didn't adjust for the change. Remember than our society has been engineered as a Consumerist Society. That means we are focused into a certain lifestyle as consumers and that has been our purpose. It's even why we built the robots, to make a more efficient Consumer Society.

But Consumerism requires products being made and people buying them all the time. But income inequality increases, automation takes jobs, etc. it becomes more and more difficult for people to continue buying stuff. Less people with extra money means less spending on stuff beyond the basics.

There are ways to keep it all going though but population increase and limited resources is also a major factor now too. So even if you shifted the money around to keep the system running like before there are other barriers now to consider.

The fact is we need to re-engineer our society in some major ways that won't be very easy. But until we do this problem will only increase exponentially.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Automation makes humans more productive but at the expense of the humans who have to adapt themselves to their processes, which ultimately make them less human. Personally, I don't like having to adapt to algorithms, they should adapt to us. They're good for internal business processes, bad for things like the distribution of news, customer service, and services for the general public. They directly benefit the individuals who own the automation (to which others have to conform).

a reply to: SpeakerofTruth

Very true.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

You are spot on! Unfortunately, we (yes, even here on ATS) have been conditioned to believe that having a job and working for our entire life is actually a good thing and something to aspire to. Have you noticed that we are moving into a service based economy now? That's because pretty much everything we actually need has already been invented/built/supplied and is in ample supply to cater for every person on the planet. So now they need to convince us that we should concentrate on spending money on stuff we don't need, but would make our experience more pleasant. The purpose is to keep us in debt and reliant on working all our lives.

We need to wake up.

a reply to: -mytym-

I would totally agree, but from the opposite end...

We have been raised to hate anyone who works less than we do to the point they don't even deserve food and shelter...

originally posted by: -mytym-
The purpose is to keep us in debt and reliant on working all our lives.

If you shift the focus just a bit you could say that since all basic needs are met, they/we need something to give our lives purpose.

Logically if this generation has twice the people and machines do half the work then then only 1/8 the man hours are needed to provide on par with the previous generation. Why is the 40 hour work week even still in effect. That was established in 1940, 4 generations ago. Obviously waking up is in order but "getting your act together, getting an education/skill and getting a solid 40 hours a week to earn your keep" isn't it.