So it goes....
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The great Norbert Weiner, the father of modern cybernetics knew early on after WW2 that the computer was going to be the one machine that would result in the loss of human jobs.
As early as 1961, General Motors had installed robotic units on the production line, this had the effect of not only taking human jobs but also once the low-skilled worker was replaced by an automated 'fetch and carry' operation, this would knock on to elsewhere in the workplace.
The jobs market is shrinking and more so since the 2009 crash. The 'useless' regarded degrees such as Golf Course Management and the like have created a wash of graduates who will not find work easily.
The future human worker will need transferable skills and skills that a robot finds difficult. A 4 year old child has more dexterity than current robots, what the human can do easily, the robot can't and vice versa.
The modern employer seeks the least cost option, typically employing young, inexperienced and cheap labour. They look to pay the least on offer from a job application advert they post, but it is a false economy.
Having been studying the job market since the 2009 rupture, I have noticed two things, firstly that the 'least cost option' has led to another phenomena, that of the same job coming up about 1-3 months later because the post holder was not the right choice.
The employment agencies acknowledge that the employers want the least cost option, so think about that when you build a CV, how will you conceal your age if you're worried that may be a discriminatory factor?
Another things I notice from reading the job descriptions is the 'job and a half' syndrome, which tends to dovetail with my earlier point. Rather than create a job that is doable and would take one person and create a second part-time job in conjunction with that job, the employer tries to ram a 'job and a half' onto the one person.
This far from solves the job remit situation of employing staff to do a job in a company, what it does is foster mediocrity, with people too busy to really do the job properly, leading to stress and the person either going off on long-term sick leave or quitting.
The creeping tide of cybernation is coming, but it is not all bad news. The US Treasury has run an investigation into social security and they report that a base payment of 10 thousand USD to every person of working age and over would be cheaper than paying social security.
For us, this could be a good thing. The future could be that we buy or lease a robot that works elsewhere on our behalf and we charge the company and get paid for the robot working. Then we can do the worthwhile things we should not being slaves to society!
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