Automation – Part 1 August 11, 2014
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Economy.trackback
More on this topic later in the week, but reading this piece in Slate.com I was surprised by the following:
Automation makes certain low-skill human jobs obsolete, sure, but it also ushers in new categories of high-skill employment, from engineering and equipment operation to banking and blogging. Its greatest effect is to increase productivity, which should raise incomes and stimulate demand for new products and services.
Yet the current jobless recovery, along with a longer-term trend toward income and wealth inequality, has some thinkers wondering whether the latest wave of automation is different from those that preceded it.
Blogging? … Really?
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
In terms of technology and it’s impact, Vonnegut called it in Player Piano.
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You never paid me!!
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And never will! Back to work! 🙂
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On a cynical day, I’d question the phrase “high skilled employment” in relation to a lot of blogging – the present site excepted of course!
It’s always a little alarming how much more automation could be used. Working in the broad area of websites, I’m pretty sure a huge proportion of my work, and that of others I know, is necessary only because things weren’t thought through in the first place/aren’t working as intended. If I had -€1 for every time I spent half a day on a 10 minute job, I’d be a very unemployed man indeed…
Then again, I suspect humanity’s sloppiness and short-term thinking is what keeps many of us employed 🙂
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That’s also the nature of engineering in fairness. Often getting something very imperfect released and used is a far higher priority than doing what would be considered a quality job.
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To be fair, it also makes perfect sense a lot of the time. I’m sure there are many areas where that last push to perfect something affects so few people it’ll never be worth the time taken.
At least, that’s my excuse for shoddy-workmanship ;). Otherwise, I comfort myselft with this:
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