Sign InRegisterBloomberg.com Businessweek.com Bloomberg TV BloombergView.com

Bloomberg BusinessweekContinue to BusinessweekSign in with Facebook Or use your Businessweek accountEmail Password Forgot password? Rememberme Sign In

Already a Bloomberg.com user?

Sign in with the same account.

Don't have an account? Sign up.

Help! I can't access my account.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Technology

LIMITED-TIME OFFER SUBSCRIBE NOWSearch

Follow Follow @BW@BW

Global Economics

China Offers Freebies to Promote Burials at Sea

Part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on extravagances includes targeting the traditional funeral industry for “excessive pricing”

Global Economics

Japan's Cyberdyne Gives the Elderly a Robotic Helping Hand

Will Russia Continue to Pay the Price in Economy?

Taiwan's Protests Point to a Deeper Crisis

An Old Formula May Overstate U.S. Oil Supplies

Recent

Why China Needs Such Rapid GDP Growth: More Jobs

464kLikeLike

Premium

Sugar Producers Want to Spread Good News About Their Mortal Enemy: Big Candy

Tips for Winning the 'Jobs Friday' Pool—and March Madness

March Jobs Report: Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold

Catalonia School Trains Students for Shepherd Jobs

Sections

ChinaEnergyEuropeGlobal EconomicsHousingIndiaJobsU.S. EconomyBlog: Econochat

Companies & Industries

Hobby Lobby Case: Does God Hate Obamacare?

Hobby Lobby's rationale for fighting the Affordable Care Act all the way to the Supreme Court

Companies & Industries

The Pow! Bang! Bam! Plan to Save Marvel, Starring B-List Heroes

Mercedes Just Had Its Best Month Ever

Manchester United Investors Are Winning Even Though the Team Isn't

Dear American Airlines: I Love You So Much, Let Me Count the Ways

Recent

A Lawsuit Claims Chobani Stole a Yogurt Recipe From Fage

How the FAA Found One Airline a New Product Line

The Latest Tennessee Whiskey War

End of Windows XP Support Means Added Opportunity for Hackers

Sugar Producers Want to Spread Good News About Their Mortal Enemy: Big Candy

Sections

AutosSportsCompany ResearchEnergy

Executive ResearchHealth CareJob SearchManufacturingMarketingTelecommunicationsTransportationBlog: The Management Blog

Politics & Policy

Does Paul Ryan Really Want to Pass a Budget?

His latest Path to Prosperity is a symbolic document that "resembles" legislation but lacks detail

Politics & Policy

Eric Holder Vows Probe Into High-Speed Trading

Will 2016 Be the Year of Hillary Clinton?

Sharp Unemployment Rise for African-American Women

Were Late Obamacare Sign-Ups Young Invincibles?

Recent

A Lawsuit Claims Chobani Stole a Yogurt Recipe From Fage

Obamacare Isn't the Democrats' Biggest Problem. Slow Job Growth Is

How the FAA Found One Airline a New Product Line

Sugar Producers Want to Spread Good News About Their Mortal Enemy: Big Candy

Interactive Graphic: The NSA Spying Machine

Sections

CongressCourtsLegislationWhite HouseBlog: Josh Green on Politics

Technology

Yahoo's Payday From Alibaba's IPO Will Bring New Pressures

The company needs to fix its ad business as it hunts for deals

Technology

GrubHub Delivers Huge Gains in IPO Trading Debut

How Cortana Became Microsoft’s Version of Siri

Tech for the Classroom Fuels VC Frenzy

How Social Media Helps With Disaster Response

Recent

End of Windows XP Support Means Added Opportunity for Hackers

How Tech Giants Botched Obamacare

SmartWeave Material Fights Sweat Stains

Japan's Cyberdyne Gives the Elderly a Robotic Helping Hand

Sonos, the Wireless Speaker Champ, Has New Competition

Sections

AppleApps & SoftwareEnterprise TechConsumer ElectronicsFacebookGoogleMobile & TelecomPersonal TechnologyScience & ResearchSocial Media

Markets & Finance

Predators Are Good for Stocks

Companies targeted by the likes of Icahn and Ackman outperform the market

Markets & Finance

Third Point’s Dan Loeb Strikes Back at Sotheby’s

How Will China’s Slowdown Affect Emerging Markets?

Big Banks ... Who Needs Them!

Changing the World, One Money Transfer at a Time

Recent

Is High-Frequency Trading Insider Trading?

Correlations: Trust in Government, Trust in Banks

Yahoo's Payday From Alibaba's IPO Will Bring New Pressures

Organic Crops May Get a Commodities Exchange

A Shakeout Looms for China's Homebuilders

Sections

BanksCommoditiesCurrenciesHedge FundsInvestingMutual Funds & ETFsPrivate EquityReal EstateStocks & BondsTaxesWall Street

Innovation & Design

Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2014 Design Issue

From nanotech to supertall, the radical designs changing the world

Innovation & Design

Japan's Cyberdyne Gives the Elderly a Robotic Helping Hand

J.Crew Grads Strike Out on Their Own

SmartWeave Material Fights Sweat Stains

The Competitive Business of Designing for Tech

Recent

Interactive Graphic: The NSA Spying Machine

Lego Crowdsources Its Way to New Toys

Sonos, the Wireless Speaker Champ, Has New Competition

The Problem With Self-Driving Cars: They Don't Cry

Is Congress Trying to Fix the Wrong Patent Problem?

Sections

Design Issue 2014ArchitectureCopyrightDesignFix This/Big DataInnovatorsPatentsPrivacyReinventing BusinessTrademarksBlog: Very Near Future

Lifestyle

The Latest Tennessee Whiskey War

The George Dickel distillery is fighting a state official's enforcement action, which could be payback for a previous legal challenge

Lifestyle

How to Become Part of Marvel’s Movie Sequel Success

The App That Keeps You Out of Your Doctor's Office

You’ll Need Divine Intervention for This Bracket

Diane Von Furstenberg: Truth, Character Matter Most

Recent

A Lawsuit Claims Chobani Stole a Yogurt Recipe From Fage

How the FAA Found One Airline a New Product Line

Sugar Producers Want to Spread Good News About Their Mortal Enemy: Big Candy

Five Tips for Surviving Sir Alex Ferguson's Harvard Business School Class

The Old Watch Late-Night Shows; the Young Watch DVRs

Sections

BooksEntertainmentFashionFood & DrinkGadgets & AccessoriesHard ChoicesNext LifeSportsTravelWorkplace

Business Schools

Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014

Fierce student loyalty helps Notre Dame's Mendoza defend its number one spot for a fifth straight year

Business Schools

Students Test Passion for Sports Against Industry Reality

College Budget Crusaders Aim to Do What Congress Can't

Former IBM Chairman's Next Move: Reinventing the Global Corporation

Why Business Schools Ignore Women

Recent

Five Tips for Surviving Sir Alex Ferguson's Harvard Business School Class

FAQ: Undergraduate Business School Rankings 2014

Mendoza Students Really, Really Love Their School: Notre Dame Is the Best Undergrad Business School for a Fifth Year

Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014: How We Ranked The Schools

The Complete Ranking: Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014

Sections

European B-SchoolsFinancial AidFinding a JobForumsMBA AdmissionsRankings & ProfilesSchool FinderUndergrad ProgramsBlog: Getting InTest Prep Center

Small Business

Is the Taxman Coming for Retirement Entrepreneurs?

The IRS has been cracking down on a maneuver that uses retirement savings to buy businesses

Small Business

Last-Minute Small Business Tax Tips for Procrastinators

Building Your Business With an Irreverent Twitter Feed

Big Picture Economics in Small Business Job Index

Special Report: Going From Small to Big

Recent

End of Windows XP Support Means Added Opportunity for Hackers

J.Crew Grads Strike Out on Their Own

SmartWeave Material Fights Sweat Stains

Organic Crops May Get a Commodities Exchange

Small to Big: Anytime Fitness

Sections

AdviceBenefitsBlog: The New EntrepreneurCommentaryExpanding OverseasFinancingLogisticsMarketingPolicyProfilesSmall to BigSmart AnswersTaxesTechnologyToolkit

Video & Multimedia

Slideshows

Catalonia's School of Shepherds

Financial Follies: Cartoons in Grant's Interest Rate Observer

Pavement Vortex: A Tough Winter Takes It Out on Roads

2014 Spring Fashion: Office Style Guide

Photo Essays

Studio Visit: Industrial Light & Magic Animator Hal Hickel

Studio Visit: Artist Florentijn Hofman and His Giant Rubber Duckie

Charts

Correlations: Trust in Government, Trust in Banks

Justin Rosenstein: How to Talk to Designers If You're Not a Designer

Videos

I Live `La Vida’ Google: Jeff Jarvis

The App That Keeps You Out of Your Doctor's Office

How to Create Influencer Ad Campaigns

J-Lo Outbids Puff Daddy to Put Nuvo Spin on Fuse TV

Opening Remarks

Robot Workers: Coexistence Is PossibleBy Sam Grobart December 13, 2012

The robots are coming. Resistance is futile. From car factories to microprocessor plants to fulfillment warehouses, a single robot can now handle tasks thatonce took hundreds of man-hours to complete. This relentless march of automation is causing economic upheaval. As time goes on, companies willbecome more productive and more efficient, but the amount of human labor required will decrease and the pay will be less. The sentient worker will bereduced to a relic of a simpler age.

This is what we’ve been told, anyway. To some economists, stubbornly high unemployment rates in the U.S. and Europe are at least partly attributable tothe rise of machines. “There’s no question that in some high-profile industries, technology is displacing workers of all, or almost all, kinds,” wrote Paul

Krugman in the New York Times on Dec. 9, adding that “many of the jobs being displaced are high-skill and high-wage.” Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology professor Erik Brynjolfsson, co-author of Race Against the Machine, says: “Robots are becoming more capable and skilled, and people withthe same sets of skills are not as much in demand.” According to this view, robots aren’t change agents. They’re destroyers of worlds.

Yet the robot revolution doesn’t have to cause panic. While robots can claim some technological superiority over humans, even the most sophisticatedmachines have limitations. Automation will inevitably displace jobs, but it’s already bringing fresh economic opportunities as well. The last two decadeshave shown how technology can create industries even as it turns whole cities into has-beens. The ratio of jobs created to jobs eliminated by robots andwhere all the newfound wealth ultimately winds up are entirely dependent on how workers, businesses, and policymakers prepare for this new era.

Story: Amazon's Robotic Future: A Work in Progress

History is punctuated with scares about automation, with industries rising and falling based on changing technologies. Toward the end of the 18th century,90 percent of the U.S. population was involved in farming. Farmers now make up 2 percent of the domestic workforce because of innovations such astractors and grain combines. Meanwhile, our modern economy includes people who make a living creating mobile apps, a profession that wasinconceivable a generation ago.

More than any economy in the world, the U.S. has proven to be especially resilient in the face of massive technological change. Why should recentadvances in robotics be any different?

One reason is the accelerating pace of change. “We have a growing mismatch between the speed of technological development and our ability to adapt toit,” says Brynjolfsson. Technological developments used to take time to work their way into society. The internal-combustion engine was developed in thelatter half of the 19th century, but it displaced the horse as a means of transportation only some 50 years later. The World Wide Web, on the other hand,has upended industries in less than 20 years. Moore’s Law is faster than Otto’s cycle.

Story: Smarter Robots, With No Wage Demands

All that said, it’s too soon to write dirges for the humble human worker. In today’s workplace, there are still things that robots just can’t do. At QuietLogistics, an order-fulfillment center for online retailers in Devens, Mass., 64 robots are used to move merchandise around the warehouse, but 330humans are required to fold, package, and ship the products. Why not have robots do the whole thing? “People are really good at picking up things,” saysBruce Welty, Quiet Logistics’ chief executive officer. “It’s very difficult to get a robot to make the decisions required that a human makes to picksomething out of a bin—particularly if there are many different things in that bin.”

Humans continue to have another advantage over robots: They remain a more flexible workforce. To handle this year’s holiday shopping season,Amazon.com (AMZN) hired 50,000 part-time workers. While seasonal, part-time labor is not something you can necessarily build an economy on, it’sworth noting that Amazon didn’t buy more robots, because you can’t hire a robot part-time (yet). What would additional robots do when demand receded?“Come January,” says Jim Tompkins, a supply-chain consultant, “all that automation’s going to be staring you in the face.”

This is the state of the robotic arts today: a point where humans and robots share labor, with robots handling the simple and repetitive and humans takingcare of the complex and dynamic. Some robotics designers and engineers would like this to be a blueprint for the future, where increased automation doesnot necessarily displace human beings. Rodney Brooks, a former MIT robotics professor, is an optimist. To Brooks, who is also founder and chairman ofrobot maker Rethink Robotics, these machines are going to help workers, not compete with them. He points out that personal computers didn’t get rid ofoffice workers, they changed the jobs people did. When it comes to robots, “it’s not a one-for-one replacement,” he says. “People are so much better atcertain things.”

Video: Laid Off Recently? Blame the Robots

But robots are still in their relative infancy. As faster processors and improved sensors enhance robots’ capabilities, it’s highly possible that the peacefulcoexistence between man and machine may evolve into something more competitive. “In manufacturing, there’s already a ton of innovation going on,”says Brynjolfsson. Economists like him fear that as robots get smarter, the gross domestic product will expand at a healthy clip, but that positive datawould mask reduced employment and lower wages. “Can GDP continue to grow? Of course it can,” says MIT economist Frank Levy. “The question is:Can everyone benefit?”

Extrapolate this further, and the role robots play in our economy and our lives begins to provoke fundamental questions about the nature of work. We haveorganized our economic system around the idea that income is derived from labor. But what happens when labor is not just transferred from one group ofpeople to another (outsourcing) but to machines?

History has never shown that a life of idle hedonism brings out the best in human beings. We excel when we are creative and productive. To ensure thatcontinues to be the case, we can’t ignore or prevent the growth of automation, but we can bring our considerable talents to bear on determining what thefuture of work will look like. For the U.S., that will require innovation and entrepreneurship, but also policies that foster those things—such as animmigration policy that attracts and retains high-skilled newcomers who can help build job-creating industries, and a corporate tax rate that encouragesinvestment in domestic opportunities and not offshore tax-haven chicanery. Critically, more of the wealth created by productivity gains needs to bechanneled into a stronger system of education and training.

Story: Robots: The Future of the Oil Industry

If the robot threat proves overblown and automation is not as transformative as is predicted or feared, then none of those efforts will have been in vain—they are answers not just to the threat of robots, but also to many other issues that challenge U.S. economic potential. “Our economy has a lot ofproblems,” says Northwestern University economist Robert Gordon. “If you’re looking for new problems, it’s not robots.” It makes more sense to adapt torobots’ taking our old jobs than to fight against it. Who knows? Once we figure out how to work with robots, we might even learn to love them.

Video: Don't Fire the Cleaner, Robots Can't Learn Just YetStory: The March of Robots Into Chinese FactoriesVideo: Restaurants Fire Chefs as Robots Take Over Kitchen

Story: Raytheon's Missiles Are Now Made by RobotsStory: A Tiny Transforming Robot Inspired by Protein (and Junkyard Magnets)Video: Are Robots Set to Take Over the Wine Making Craft?Story: Dinner and a Robot: My Night Out With a PR2Video: Will This Disney Robot Scare Kids at Theme Parks?Story: Robotic Luggage Doesn't DeliverVideo: World's Most Human-Like Robot Has TendonsStory: The $210,000 Cow-Milking RobotVideo: $210K Robot Attaches to Cows, Peacefully Milks ThemVideo: Hate Mowing the Lawn? Get This RobotVideo: Meet the Robot That Will Never DieSTORY: The Velveteen RobotStory: The Robots Have Already Won (at Roshambo)Video: Hong Discusses the Evolution of RoboticsVideo: Are This Guy and His Robot Manufacturing's Future?Video: A Robot Whose Operator Feels Everything It TouchesPrevious 12 NextGrobart is a senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek. Follow him on Twitter @samgrobart.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER SUBSCRIBE NOW

29 Comments Businessweek.com Login

Sort by Best Share Favorite

From The Web by TaboolaSponsored Content

Graduate Schools Without aGMAT Requirement:Program OverviewsEducation Portal

87 Year Old Personal TrainerShares Her Secret To LosingWeight in 2014Health 1st

9 Exercises You Must Do IfYou Want To Lose WeightMy Diet

10 of the Nicest New Cars of2014InsiderCarNews.com

You Won't Believe Who'sRelated to Abraham LincolnAncestry.com

Millennials Are Drinking SoMuch Wine They'reChanging How It's SoldThe Huffington Post

Some Dude HacksMicrowave, PutsManufacturers to ShameReviewed.com

18 Secret Menu ItemsAround the U.S.Zagat

You Haven't Lived Until YouVisit These 10 All-InclusiveResortsTripCurator

Worthless Exercises YouProbably DoThePostGame

More From The Web From Businessweek

Economist: "Obama Won't Finish Term Without Bottom DroppingOut" (Money Morning)

Some Dude Hacks Microwave, Puts Manufacturers to Shame (Reviewed.com)

How Much Should Be In Your Rainy Day Fund? (Betterment)

Millennials are Drinking so Much Wine They're Changing How it'sSold (Parade)

10 of the Nicest New Cars of 2014 (InsiderCarNews.com)

Ex-McDonald’s Managers Say They Withheld WagesSelling Boats to Billionaires Undercover in FloridaBikini Bootcamp Highlights Wellness Travel DemandWal-Mart Sees $3B Opportunity Refilling ShelvesLos Angeles Mansion Sets Record With $102M Sale

Join the discussion…

• Reply •

Guest • a year ago

we are all slowly being made redundant by the quite softly softly invasion/introduction of technology,a lot of governments that are asleep right now will be in some serious trouble in the near future if they don't get a grip and start TAXING theuse of technology to pay for the people that it replaces. almost everything being run by machines is not that far off, in fact if you really thinkabout it a machine can be programmed to do almost anything that we can do except do politics.we will truly have nothing to do but blameeach other for our woes and we all know that that is no good for a stable society in the long term

2

• Reply •

Joo • a year ago Guest

You're a nut! Life is about survival of the fittest, and victory goes to the biggest battalions. The weak and stupid and unlucky will beleft behind. I wish it weren't that way, but technology is a great aspect of what it means to be human, while politics is one of thelowest, meanest forms of human activity. If one zone (state, country, whatever) taxes tech, and the one next door doesn't, well,what do you think will happen in the long term? The taxing zone will die, and all its citizens will suffer. Not to mention that as soonas a tax is enacted, all the smarties will leave for greener pastures, and leave the mediocrities behind. The taxing zone will thendeteriorate at an even greater rate with no one smart to help it, and the non tax zone will become more enriched.

A stable society, as you use the term, is actually one which keeps up with technological trends so it doesn't fall behind. You seemto think that politicians' wisdom will protect all of us, great and small. The theory of evolution applies to us, not just animals. Butyou think politicians and repressive laws can save you? Get real.

1

• Reply •

Danny • a year ago Guest

people are needed to design these robots and maintain them, robots will not invent themselves. Its not an invasion its part of thedevelopment of us a human beings. My opinion is that we need to be like China in the manufacturing sector, however without thepeople but with robots. Imagine that!

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago Danny

In 20 years, robots will be designing themselves. What you gonna do then? 1

• Reply •

lunaticzombie • a year ago Jojo

This is really sad that the any human does not know what he will do, when all routine jobs are done by Robots.This line of thought conveys that humans are born to do jobs :(

In my view human life is about finding new things, experimenting, creating music, arts, loving, basically having richerexperiences in life. And that is something which only humans will enjoy and we will develop robots to enable us liveour desired life...

2

• Reply •

Danny • a year ago Jojo

think outside the box buddy.... you think that's it? we go home and sleep because robots can design themselves?

• Reply •

StealthFighter • a year ago

this is pathetic, humans co-existing with robots, in the name of what, productivity? to put more human beings on earth? aren't we enoughalready? half of them can't feed themselves because there arent any jobs....

2

Hello • a year ago StealthFighter

@StealthFighterA retarded and misinformed statement. The areas of concentrated starvation tend to have certain attributes such as persistentwarfare, ethnic turmoil, catastrophic weather/location conditions such as typhoons and earthquakes, or in the case of Bangladeshliving in an area that cannot possibly create enough food for itself but not taking a note from Japan and specializing in somethingelse so they can import food.

Most starvation falls within these categories which have nothing to do with jobs. In developed countries without these problems ifyou starve your an idiot. Living comfortably with tvs and ac is completely different from starving. There are enough benefitprograms and charities to allow you to at least feed yourself. If you are not able to utilize these programs due to a language barrier

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

• Reply •

programs and charities to allow you to at least feed yourself. If you are not able to utilize these programs due to a language barrieror based off of your citizenship status it once again has nothing to do with jobs. It is on you.

PS the earth produces more than enough food for everyone on the planet but there will always be transportation inefficiencies andthe above conditions to create starvation. If anything increased productivity can only help in the creation of food and theaccumulation of capital.

4

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago Hello

The above message idiotic brought to you by yet another deluded Republican with his head stuck in the dark area betweenhis legs.

1

• Reply •

Hello • a year ago Jojo

The above message brought to you by another deluded democrat who cannot form a cogent argument. Since hecannot win an argument he resorts to personal insults.

• Reply •

Jim_Satterfield • a year ago

The article has a major fallacy in it and it is one that is repeated over and over again. The claim that robotics and other machinery thatautomates human jobs won't destroy jobs because someone has to build and maintain the machines is ludicrous. Company A has 5,000workers. They buy the latest and greatest for automation in their field from ACME Robotics, eliminating 2,000 jobs. This strikes the other 49businesses that do the same thing as a good idea and they buy the same equipment, eliminating a total of 100,000 jobs. ACME is makinggood money, especially since the drafting and design software they use and their own automated systems means they only employ 500people. Oops. 95,000 net jobs gone. A simple model, admittedly, to make for easily followed numbers but the basic logic is still true.

Also, it is true the the PC didn't eliminate the office worker it did drastically reduce the numbers of them needed. How many accountingclerks have been displaced by accounting software and spreadsheets? Oddly enough I'm not aware of one organization who has everattempted to quantify that or other job displacement from technology, just fluff pieces like this one with no facts or even an attempt ateven-handed research on the issue.

1

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago

see more

Jim_Satterfield

Politicians, Bloomberg and the rest of the MSM don't want to get serious about the automation problem because it will upset theiradvertisers or campaign contributors. So they delude not only themselves but their readers and followers with loads of what canonly be termed BS.============August 18, 2012Skilled Work, Without the WorkerBy JOHN MARKOFF

DRACHTEN, the Netherlands -- At the Philips Electronics factory on the coast of China, hundreds of workers use their hands andspecialized tools to assemble electric shavers. That is the old way.

At a sister factory here in the Dutch countryside, 128 robot arms do the same work with yoga-like flexibility. Video cameras guidethem through feats well beyond the capability of the most dexterous human.

One robot arm endlessly forms three perfect bends in two connector wires and slips them into holes almost too small for the eye tosee. The arms work so fast that they must be enclosed in glass cages to prevent the people supervising them from being injured.And they do it all without a coffee break -- three shifts a day, 365 days a year.

All told, the factory here has several dozen workers per shift, about a tenth as many as the plant in the Chinese city of Zhuhai.

1

Jojo • a year ago

Well at least it is good to see a major business magazine acknowledging the rise of the machines. Other than that though, the article waswishy-washy & very poorly written.

Coexistence is not possible. The robots will eventually take almost all the jobs, including maintaining and repairing themselves. And ofcourse not having any answers to the overall problem, you turn to the usual platitudes about magically "innovating" our way out of theproblem. So somehow we are going to create NEW industries that are going to be designed form the getgo to employ more humansinstead of using automation? I don't think so.

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

• Reply •

Then of course you fall back on the old saw about how farmers (how could you also forget the buggy whip manufacturers?) managed tofind work in manufacturing industry at the start of the industrial revolution when mechanization severely reduced the number of farm handsrequired back in 19th century. Which has about ZERO applicability to today's world!

As for all those "app" designers, two points. One, most of them are not making any money. And two, many of them reside in foreigncountries, which doesn't help the USA at all.

Bottom line is that automation destroys more jobs than it creates. If we keep birthing more people while machines take up more jobs, why,we are going to have too many people and not enough jobs - which is exactly where we are at now! Back to the drawing/writing boardwith you, BW.

1

• Reply •

kaithor • a year ago

So it seems per the article that the key advantage of humans is that they can be easily fired, as opposed to the sunk costs of buying arobot.

This is depressing. 1

• Reply •

Keith Pomroy • a year ago kaithor

Don't you realize you just made the case FOR hiring humans?

• Reply •

CommieStooge • a year ago

Shortly before STAR TREK: NEXT GENERATION went on TV; I attended a TREK Convention and saw Gene Roddenberry as GOH.During a question and answer session, a child asked why there were four hundred crew on the Enterprise: he answered by saying that theywere there to keep an eye on the Computers!What destroyed Colonial Civilization in "Caprica" & "Battlestar: Galactica" turned out to be a religious dispute.Hopefully, we will be smart enough to program these things with Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.However, given human nature - I'm not so sure!Anyone watch "Colossus: The Forbin Project" lately?

1

• Reply •

Jay • a year ago CommieStooge

"Colossus: The Forbin Project"Yup...part of my DVD collection.

• Reply •

LordLiverpool • a year ago

More Robots + Less People = Happy Planet 1

• Reply •

Peter Henderson • a year ago

The inventor of the digital computer, A. M. Turing, was a leftist who hoped the machine would level the playing field between white collarand blue collar workers, by doing intellectual work that formerly required an Oxonian. At first it seemed that this would not happen but wehave already reached the point where computer programming can be outsourced. People will always be needed where face-time isessential, but it seems likely that the level of intellectual talent that can command a good salary will rise until only the top 1%, if that, will bepaid for their brains. What will the rest of us do? Hopefully get dividends on our stocks.

1

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago Peter Henderson

How did you buy those stocks that you are getting dividends on without a job to generate income? And please define "leftist".

• Reply •

Jennifer Lee • a year ago

For another perspective on robots/automation and the impact on jobs and the economy, read the book "The Lights in the Tunnel:Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future"

http://www.thelightsinthetunne... 1

Jojo • a year ago

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago

Coexistence? Meh!

A completely automated meat (beef?) processing plant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?f...

Humans are needed less and less in workplaces. How many worker jobs does this automated meat cutting plant eliminate?

Who is going to have a job to earn the money to buy things? Maybe we all own a robot and it works for us and we collect its earnings?

• Reply •

Hello • a year ago Jojo

If the work can be done at a lower cost with no disadvantages to the company the usage of these employees is pointless. At thatpoint, the employees are just filling a slot. If production and efficiency levels keep rising the cost of items will fall. In the future, itmay not be necessary for anyone to work full time. Technology does not just increase productivity, it transforms society.

Your argument is that if no one has jobs then no one will be able to afford production. In that case, why would companies produceanything? Jobs should never be the goal, rather we should focus on broader economic growth. Why force companies to employeepeople when we can produce more for less? The overall economic goal is to create a society rich in accumulated capital and bybuilding off of the hard work and technology of its predecessors reach a point where we can live comfortably with minimal effort. Technology is the means to that end.

• Reply •

Jojo • a year ago Hello

We may have to work less to afford ALL humans a chance to earn money to pay for goods and services. Or perhaps wemay not need to work at all because robots will provide everything for us for free while we lounge on pillows, eat grapes anddrink wine all day long. But I doubt it.

And if you work part-time (and therefore earn less money), do you think your landlord (or the bank holding your mortgage)will lower your monthly housing cost? Say out of the generosity of their hearts? Will the supermarket sell you food at 50%off if you are only working 50% of a full-time week? No, I don't think so.

There are many unintended and also not yet understood consequences that will occur as our society becomes moreautomated.

• Reply •

Hello • a year ago Jojo

My point was that we will be able to produce the same amount with less work. During the industrial revolution we allworked insane hours, now 40 hours is the norm. Not that people don't work more, just that 40 hours is morecommon. Likewise, in the future we may be making equivalent income for less hours of work. The dollar amountmay fluctuate but the purchasing power should increase. No one is going to sell for less out of the goodness of theirheart, but rather due to positive economic conditions. There are many unforeseen consequences of technology andthat was my point. I fully expect there to be turmoil for a long time as we adjust to new realities, but I believe it willreach a point of equilibrium.

• Reply •

Carlos • a year ago

Maybe it's time to lawfully force some social or collective ownership of fully automated factories. For example, by declaring that apercentage of the companies must be owned by thousands of individuals. The problem plausibly relies on the hyper-concentration ofwealth, not on the productivity leap.

• Reply •

eyeShare • a year ago

You don't have to hire a robot to do your work, you can use a virtual one, IT automation software can reduce more than 80% of yourjob. Robots = Automation.

• Reply •

JohnnyNoname • a year ago

Beware of Skynet!!!

Hello • a year ago JohnnyNoname

Although, time travel would be awesome.

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

Share ›

• Reply • Share ›

Read this next

×Sugar Producers Want to Spread Good News About Their Mortal Enemy: Big Candy

Feed Most Popular

ReadSharedDiscussed

Interactive Graphic: The NSA Spying MachineThe Complete Ranking: Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014The Pow! Bang! Bam! Plan to Save Marvel, Starring B-List HeroesMendoza Students Really, Really Love Their School: Notre Dame Is the Best Undergrad Business School for a Fifth Year

Mendoza Students Really, Really Love Their School: Notre Dame Is the Best Undergrad Business School for a Fifth YearThe Complete Ranking: Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014Interactive Graphic: The NSA Spying MachineThe Pow! Bang! Bam! Plan to Save Marvel, Starring B-List HeroesThe Leather on Those Golf Gloves Might Come From a Stolen Pet in Thailand

NRA Does Victory Dance Over the Woes of a California Gun FoeThe Man Who Wants to Buy the Biggest U.S. Gun Maker Doesn't Own a GunHow to Understand Georgia's 'Guns Everywhere' Law: Four Blunt PointsSilicon Valley's Elite Comes Out Against the Keystone XLSeven Unanswered Questions About Obamacare

Newsletter Signup

Sample copyEnter Your Email I'm in

Businessweek.com, on behalf of itself and select partners, may send me offers and promotions. Bloomberg, on behalf of itself and select partners, may send me offers and promotions.

Thank you for subscribing to our Daily Newsletter. You will receive a confirmation email shortly at .

Companies Mentioned

AMZN

(Amazon.com Inc)$323.0 USD-10.62-3.29%

Market data is delayed at least 15 minutes.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Jaunt Turns Tech Jobs Into a Reality

Can General Motors Get the Correct Crisis Response?

Mozilla CEO Quits Over Support for Gay Marriage Ban

A Lawsuit Claims Chobani Stole a Yogurt Recipe From Fage

Obamacare Isn't the Democrats' Biggest Problem. Slow Job Growth Is

How the FAA Found One Airline a New Product Line

The Latest Tennessee Whiskey War

Why China Needs Such Rapid GDP Growth: More Jobs

End of Windows XP Support Means Added Opportunity for Hackers

China Offers Freebies to Promote Burials at Sea

Ads by Google

10 Best Credit CardsCompare Credit Cards with 0% APR. Lock-in 0% APR for 18 Months Today!www.comparecards.comNo GRE Graduate SchoolsFind Graduate Schools with No GRE Requirement. Get Matched for Free.www.degreeleap.com/GREScottrade® Official Site$7 Online Trades. Clear Pricing, Simple Acct Opening, Free Support.www.scottrade.com

Sponsored Links

Save Your Emails As PDFSave email and attachments as PDF files, withno clunky PDF driver needed. Dozens of othertools.

T-Mobile® for BusinessThe freedom to grow your business with thefastest nationwide 4G LTE network.

YOUR COMPETITIVE EDGEProposal Pricing Software For GovernmentContractors and Federal Agencies

Wells Fargo Advisors Rollover GuideChanging jobs or retiring? Get a free guide tounderstand your 401(k) options.

Wells Fargo Advisors Estate PlanningKitDownload a free toolkit and understand theessentials of planning your estate.

Buy a link now!

Bloomberg Businessweek special reports offervaluable perspectives and analysis. Visit today to

join an important business conversation.

Social

Follow us on TwitterJoin us on FacebookConnect with us on LinkedInConnect with us on Google+Subscribe to Bloomberg BusinessweekBloomberg

Links

Our CompanyNews MissionAdvertisingCareersContent LicensingFeedbackCustom PublishingManage Subscription

MobileNewslettersPrivacy PolicyReprints & PermissionsSitemapTerms of Use[+] Rate This Page

Get Businessweek Delivered

Marvel's Marvel

Subscribe

©2014 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. Made in NYC Ad Choices

Activate to launch comment card