torsdag 14 november 2013

Are droids taking our jobs? - A reflection




http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mcafee_are_droids_taking_our_jobs.html


The question can seem a bit silly, how can a computer do my work? Yet, we know nothing about what the future may hold.

Today the machines and computers are used as a tool, we have to tell the program what to do, in order to get it done. But how will it be in the future? Can the computers work on a problem without any inputs from a human?

In the ted-talk Andrew McAfee are talking about how the future may look like in terms of work, and that raised many questions. How will we work with the new technologies? Are there going to be droids working for us? Will all humans go unemployed due to cheap robotic workforce?

Until today we have seen an explosion in technology growth. Just 5 years ago everyone didn’t have internet access in their pockets, but today due to smartphones, many people have. We are now living in a technological revolution where new and smarter systems are built every day.
 
In history, the Industrial revolution gave us the power above our human strength, we were able to increase production and it enabled us to produce new products.  But the new technology is not all about physical strength, it has more to do with brain capacity and smarter thinking. So how will the future be for us humans? That is not a simple question. You can always hope that the future is bright, but if you are a fan of science fiction, you know that it is not always so.

To sum up my thoughts, I think that new technology are a good tool for humans to develop and create something, but there is always a risk how the outcome will be. But then, what did the workers during the industrial revolution think about the new machines and how did they predict the future? Sometimes I think humans assume the worst when facing the unknown.
I don’t think every job can be done by a droid, but of course there are jobs suitable for nonhuman workforce and I think that in a near future, people are going to work with smart robots.




“These are not the droids you are looking for”.


3 kommentarer:

  1. You are in the same thoughts as i about the droids and the future.

    Machines and computers is getting smarter and a lot of trial and error gives the machines bigger and bigger databases to look at when something goes wrong.
    Over time these databases will be as dictionary's for the machines, when something goes wrong and a human needs to replace something depending on what it is, the machine itself will look into this database with over 10 years of different situations stored and make the correct decision itself.

    I try to think of the day when cabs don't need drivers to take you from A to B, because the car can drive itself, what will happen with all taxi-drivers, which today feed many homes.

    As i said, i like your view of the droids and the future, close to my thoughts.

    Cheers,
    /Sinan


    SvaraRadera
  2. The first thing which comes into my mind when I read your blog was the movie Terminator. Not only because I like Arnold Schwarzenegger (being an Austrian and all that). No. It’s a scenario which could happen because sometimes we can’t even imagine what our creations can do in the future. Parents of a mass murderer are even thinking that they are rearing a nice child. You never know.
    I am of the opinion it’s good to not be restricted in one’s thinking and to invent new things and to help the word develop. But in the end you never know if it will be like Alice in wonderland or more like opening Pandora’s Box.
    I especially like your comparison with the industrial revolution. It’s easy to look back in history and think: “oh my god what were they thinking?” but to be at this point of history not knowing what future generations will think about you is much more difficult. This fur we can only hope that the recent technical development will be like stars in the history books of the future and no black dots.
    I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

    SvaraRadera
  3. Hi Per
    I agree with you that the world has changed very much and mainly due to technology the applied practical side of research. In the last 100 years the technology grew like a snowball and this occurrence will not stop. Humanity has already passed Jules Verne’s novels and soon will open Isaac Asimov’s.
    I can read some pessimism between your lines, but I am optimist. I trust that humanity grew up, since the Iron Curtain’s fall, enough to avoid disasters. Furthermore technology is the only one to help Earth to sustain such a population growth. After all I don’t think there are fewer jobs now than for fifty years ago but we, workers are twice as many.

    Sincerely,
    Andras

    SvaraRadera