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Waymo Robotaxis Are Giving 100,000 Rides a Week. It'll Soon Be More. (singularityhub.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Be careful with that logic, these are jobs forever lost to robots. They will eventually come for your job or the job of someone you know. Increasingly the question won’t be whether robots can do X better than humans, but whether they should.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    That's literally the goal.

    I used to do electrical engineering at an architecture firm, and we would say, design a hospital that has 300 identical exam rooms in it.

    Guess what happens when someone decides that we need one more outlet in one of those rooms? Or that they need to be on the other wall? Or that a new piece of furniture gets added?

    Do you think that all 300 rooms would just update with that new requirement? No. It is someone's job to sit there, click on the outlet on the pallette in the left side of their screen, drag it into the room, rotate it properly, attach it to the right wall, give it a circuit from the panel, and then repeat for 300 rooms. It can take weeks.

    I learned how to write software because I realized what a fucking crock of shit waste of time that is. Why are you celebrating and defending menial bullshit that can be automated? A utopian future is literally only possible if we automate away most jobs. I don't think our current system of resource distribution is setup for a utopian future, but it can literally only happen if all the pieces are in place for it, and automating the basic necessities (like building design, and transportation) is one of those necessary pieces. If AI automates software development, that will be awesome because then way more industries (like architecture) will be able to get the software they need to run effectively.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Well it is one thing to automate a repetitive task in your job, and quite another to eliminate entire professions. The latter has serious ramifications and shouldn’t be taken lightly. What you call “menial bullshit” is the entire livelihood and profession of quite a few people, speaking of taxis for one. And the means to make some extra cash for others. Also, a stepping stone for immigrants who may not have the skills or means to get better jobs but are thus able to make a living legally. And sometimes the refuge of white collar workers down on their luck. What are all these people going to do when taxi driving is relegated to robots? Will there be (less menial) alternatives? Will these offer a livable wage? Or will such people end up long-term unemployed? Will the state have enough cash to support them and help them upskill or whatever is needed to survive and prosper?

    A technological utopia is a promise from the 1950s. Hasn’t been realized yet. Isn’t on the horizon anytime soon. Careful that in dreaming up utopias we don’t build dystopias.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago*

    You can argue for both automation and fair treatment for workers. For example, if gas lamps become electric, you could give the lamplighters some time or new training to find a new job. I'm sure a labor academic would know better how to navigate jobs being obsoleted, but the answer to technologic progress isn't "keep taxi drivers at all costs" it's "protect taxi drivers from corporations"

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    Well it is one thing to automate a repetitive task in your job, and quite another to eliminate entire professions.

    No it is not. That is literally how those jobs are eliminated. 30 years ago CAD came out and helped to automate drafting tasks to the point that a team of 20 drafters turned into 1 or 2 drafters and eventually turned into engineers drafting their own drawings.

    What you call “menial bullshit” is the entire livelihood and profession of quite a few people, speaking of taxis for one.

    Congratulations, despite you wanting to look at it with rose coloured glasses, that does not change the fact that it is objectively menial bullshit.

    What are all these people going to do when taxi driving is relegated to robots?

    Find other entry level jobs. If we eliminate *all * entry level jobs through automation, then we will need to implement some form of basic income as there will not be enough useful work for everyone to do. That would be a great problem to have.

    Will the state have enough cash to support them and help them upskill or whatever is needed to survive and prosper?

    Yes, the state has access to literally all of the profits from automation via taxes and redistribution.

    A technological utopia is a promise from the 1950s. Hasn’t been realized yet. Isn’t on the horizon anytime soon. Careful that in dreaming up utopias we don’t build dystopias.

    Oh wow, you're saying that if human beings can't create something in 70 years, then that means it's impossible and we'll never create it?

    Again, the only way to get to a utopia is to have all of the pieces in place, which necessitates a lot of automation and much more advanced technology than we already have. We're only barely at the point where we can start to practice biology and medicine in a meaningful way, and that's only because computers completely eliminated the former profession of computer.

    Be careful that you don't keep yourself stuck in our current dystopia out of fear of change.

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