Mass unemployment.

[JFKvsNixon]

The only predictions I've heard about have been unrealistic hype from newspapers, blogs and such. While 3D printing will revolutionise the way that complex structures are manufactured, I've yet to see any evidence that it will revolutionise mass production of non-complex products.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if at some stage companies like Amazon end up building to order a lot of the far eastern mass produced items they sell, instead of importing them and then shipping them on to their customers.

Edited February 7, 2016 by JFKvsNixon

[Orzel]

Industrial automation, my fetish.

And my trade.

In short: load of bllks

Science fiction for uneducated masses. Luddites that believe in Skynet coming to get us. Fear not, there is no big leap in robotics in sight, or in fact in any branch of automation. So no terminators in near future taking over factories.

Robots are very limited in their capabilities. They can repeat one thing over and over. Same as cam operated machinery.

That part would take lets say hour to make by a skilled turner. It takes seconds in this machine with roots in long forgotten past.

Other than new shiny covers heart of cam operated lathes was developed and utilised for over a century.

Robots are exactly same. They do repetitive tasks, are not creative and can not change anything they do on their own.

Pretty much like manufacturing line operatives in Henry Ford factory a century ago.

Robots need people to manufacture, program and operate them.

Even less bright are able to work with them as it is job of more bright to set everything in a way that allows even idiots to run it.

So nothing new, just scaremongering by stupid not able to comprehend new technology.

Same for last 3 centuries, move on.

 

As for 3d printing

There are few methods.

Each has limitations.

Material science is biggest obstacle.

Unsuitable for mass production, really not that great for complex shapes.

Unsuitable for load bearing elements.

More of a novelty then useful.

People that say you can make a gun with them forget that they can't make gunpowder.

And that sten submachinegun can be made by nearly anyone with a bit of engineering knowledge.

Printing houses looks ok, but remember that you can build one with autoclaved aerated concrete blocks in one day.

And it will have more load bearing capacity than this chinese contraption.

Looks nice for someone without engineering knowledge but will be of typical chinese quality - disposable homes.

Plus cant see that thing printing foundations.

Still needs good old digger.

[*_ash_*]

It wouldn't surprise me if at some stage companies like Amazon end up building to order a lot of the far eastern mass produced items they sell, instead of importing them and then shipping them on to their customers.

 

Without a doubt, I would think.

 

Perhaps not 'very' near future, but certainly the technology will win.

 

People on here JFK, say 'they can't wait for driverless Google taxis' (which is my current living) and whether they can wait or not, they will exist sometime, I'm well aware of that, perhaps not in my lifetime, but certainly the intermediate period may/already is affecting trade. These people who write this just don't see the bigger picture. That's at least 3 or 4 thousand people (in today's numbers) in Sheffield alone who will need another living, or benefits. More importantly though, if there are driverless taxis, it's most likely that most truck drivers, delivery drivers (related to the drone thing earlier), buses, trains, etc. will also be out of work. I doubt even the supermarkets will need people to pack these trucks, robots will be quicker better and cheaper. It will just need a few mechanics and computer operators to run.

[Orzel]

It is all coming, yet too slow to cause mass unemployment.

We have not utilised 19th century technologies to full extent yet.

And they are not becoming obsolete anytime soon.

Structure of employment will evolve, that is all.

It will be very slow evolution.

First people will have to develop better ways to build roads friendly to self driving cars, than rebuild road network. That will be hampered by shortage of staff, resources etc. Drivers will keep driving, slowly shrinking in numbers.

Robots will not consciously build another robots that will unload self driving lorries.

People will have to do that. Design, build, implement. Years before till staff will get replaced. Before that happens jobs will adapt.

As for now I would love to see work week shortened to 40 hours.

[Quik]

Many of the workers in China believe all factory jobs will be 100% automated in 10 years. Robots are taking over in many other spheres also.

 

What happens there, will happen everywhere eventually.

 

What will people do for work, especially those who are not too bright? (average IQ in Britain is 100.)

The difference between this and the industrial revolution, is that back then, lots of new jobs were created. That's not the case this time around.

 

How will we cope with mass unemployment? And shouldn't the Government be putting something in place now?

 

Please tell me you were making a funny with the average IQ bit.

[Orzel]

Please tell me you were making a funny with the average IQ bit.

 

As far as I remember that is definition of IQ.

Average=100

So it is not absolute measurement, just relative.

Hence tells us nothing.

[*_ash_*]

Please tell me you were making a funny with the average IQ bit.

 

look at post 20. It was the only bit I edited out

 

I initially quoted a link, but it looked a bit sarcastic so I removed it and I wanted to see if anyone would point that out. My money was on Cyclone if it hadn't been picked up on tonight.

Edited February 7, 2016 by *_ash_*

[petemcewan]

There's another mechanism at work. In order for capitalism/market economies to work people must have purchasing power by means of their wages. Commodity

production produces "things" that enter the market for the consumer to purchase.Throw people into mass unemployment with little or no purchasing power, and commodity production experiences a crisis. The "Market " must have

people who are able to purchase by spending their wages -or even their benefits.

Consequently, automation /robotics can only go so far. A world in which machines do every possible manufacturing job ,having displaced large swathes of employees ,can never happen under Capitalism. There has to be a population earning wages and buying commodities for it to work. So what's the point of destroying potential customers purchasing powers , by replacing them with machines and making them all unemployed? I appreciate that the above is a bit crude. But it's a factor -wages labour and automation -and consumers purchasing powers.

Edited February 7, 2016 by petemcewan

[Quik]

look at post 20. It was the only bit I edited out

 

I initially quoted a link, but it looked a bit sarcastic so I removed it and I wanted to see if anyone would point that out. My money was on Cyclone if it hadn't been picked up on tonight.

 

You are clearly nicer than I am. Though I did give her the option of pretending it was a funny rather than a dissertation for the University of Thick.

[*_ash_*]

There's another mechanism at work. In order for capitalism/market economies to work people must have purchasing power by means of their wages. Commodity

production produces "things" that enter the market for the consumer to purchase.Throw people into mass unemployment with little or no purchasing power, and commodity production experiences a crisis. The "Market " must have

people who are able to purchase by spending their wages -or even their benefits.

Consequently, automation /robotics can only go so far. A world in which machines do every possible manufacturing job ,having displaced large swathes of employees ,can never happen under Capitalism. There has to be a population earning wages and buying commodities for it to work. So what's the point of destroying potential customers purchasing powers , by replacing them with machines and making them all unemployed? I appreciate that the above is a bit crude. But it's a factor -wages labour and automation -and consumers purchasing powers.

 

You need to look at the 'bigger picture'

 

Have you ever heard of a thing called real life?, or 'big' nasty companies? These people who don't give a toss about working people? Quite frankly, if they could replace their entire workforces with non-striking robots who don't require tea-break privileges or paternity leave, they would have it now. Is it happens it takes time.