Robots in demand in China as labour costs climb.
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http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda-considering-purchase-of-drones-to-aid-policing-1.2069157They are considering using drones in Ireland, but apparently, and this is the first I've heard of this, they are already being used for policing in Ulster. This is just for surveillance, not weapon strikes (a la Pakistan) but I imagine the next step will be to add 'non lethal' weaponry to the arsenal, and we'll see what use they can be put to in a riot. The point is, this technology reduces the manpower element of policing, which in turn increases the political reliability of the police.
Some will find this article on robots in food production of interesthttp://www.financialexpress.com/article/fhw/edge-fhw/foodbots/31824/
Quote:So-called Hubots (human robots) are capable of learning and being used as domestic servants or factory workers.It's not all bad news! No more boy bands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHJf365p_zw
Amazing! Unemployed boy bands lol http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/100-robots-perform-synchronised-dance-tokyo-1484469
Some following this thread will find this article of interest with various links on it.http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/02/welcome-share-scraps-economy
Quote:the biggest economic challenge we face isn’t using people more efficiently. It’s allocating work and the gains from work more decently.Another article to read for those interested in this thread on roboticshttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/robot-revolution-gathers-pace–but-at-what-cost-to-jobs-10037115.htmlRobots – ranging from giant welding machines in car plants to 3D printers – are currently used in only 10 per cent of the manufacturing jobs that they could perform. Within a decade that figure will rise to 25 per cent. Much of this growth will be led by South Korea, Germany, Japan and the United States. But among the nations set to be in the vanguard of this automation revolution is the UK, with the introduction of greater numbers of robots expected to lead to labour savings of 21 per cent, and their deployment in up to 45 per cent of automatable activities.Michael Zinser, a BCG partner, said: “For many manufacturers, the biggest reasons for not replacing workers with robots have been pure economics and technical limitations. But the price and performance of automation are improving rapidly. Within five to ten years, the business case for robots in most industries will be compelling.” In car manufacturing, a spot welding robot costs £5.25 an hour to operate compared to £16.40 for a worker. In electronics assembly, a small robot costs £2.65 an hour to do a job that a human must be paid £15.70 to perform.Harvard academic Justin Reich, an expert on the impact of technology, put it: “Robots and AI will increasingly replace routine kinds of work – even the complex routines performed by artisans, factory workers, lawyers and accountants. I’m not sure that jobs will disappear altogether, though that seems possible. But the jobs that are left will be lower paying and less secure than those that exist now.”
A follow up to the previous posthttp://www.inc.com/associated-press/robots-are-replacing-human-factory-workers-at-fast-pace.html The Boston Consulting Group predicts that investment in industrial robots will grow 10 percent a year in the world's 25-biggest export nations through 2025, up from 2 percent to 3 percent a year now. The investment will pay off in lower costs and increased efficiency. Robots are getting cheaper. The cost of owning and operating a robotic spot welder, for instance, has tumbled from $182,000 in 2005 to $133,000 last year, and will drop to $103,000 by 2025, Boston Consulting says.And the new machines can do more things. Old robots could only operate in predictable environments. The newer ones use improved sensors to react to the unexpected. Robots can be reprogrammed far faster and more efficiently than humans can be retrained when products are updated or replaced-Robots will cut labor costs by 33 percent in South Korea, 25 percent in Japan, 24 percent in Canada and 22 percent in the United States and Taiwan."As labor costs rise around the world, it is becoming increasingly critical that manufacturers rapidly take steps to improve their output per worker to stay competitive," said Harold Sirkin, a senior partner at Boston Consulting and co-author of the report. "Companies are finding that advances in robotics and other manufacturing technologies offer some of the best opportunities to sharply improve productivity."
The BBC this morning have been going big in the driverless car trials:http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31364441They already in propaganda mode: asking why people are prepared to trust planes to computers (which they already have) but not cars.To be clear, this is a threat to every Taxi, delivery, lorry, bus and all sorts of other drivers. Yes, new work will come along, and for many of us it will be a liberating boon.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Komatsu-to-develop-fully-autonomous-construction-machinery
Quote:Komatsu launched this month a service that aims to improve productivity and safety at construction sites via automated equipment, drones and cloud computing. Behind this move is a labor shortage due partly to Japan's declining birthrate, even as investment in construction grows for rebuilding from the 2011 earthquake and replacing old infrastructure.Again for followers of this thread , this article should make interesting reading. http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/02/wealth-inequality-robots/"when you buy a book from Amazon no human is involved in recording the order, directing that it be shipped or in the payment process." “the poor may not be able to purchase the goods being produced primarily by robots, and perhaps half of the population is impoverished if there is no redistribution.”
More to read for those inteested in the effects of automation and roboticshttp://www.science20.com/the_conversation/dont_blame_robots_for_the_rise_in_inequality-155408
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/21/8630771/software-slow-wage-growthInteresting point:
Quote:So when will wages start to rise again for average workers? Bessen's theory suggests that it depends on how long it takes for new technologies — like online publishing and supply-chain management — to mature and standardize. Once that happens, it will become easier for ordinary workers to gain skills, for schools to teach them, and for workers to earn a living from them over long periods.For those who are following this thread and may have missed it, AlJazeera article. Quite lengthy but here is a couple of snippetshttp://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/06/robotics-revolution-rocks-chinese-textile-workers-150614073735531.html
Quote:In Guangdong, a province on the South China Sea coast, the government plans to invest the equivalent of about $154bn to introduce robotics in manufacturing production. Guangzhou, the capital of the province, has set a goal to automate 80 percent of its manufacturing production by 2020.Further north in Zhejiang province – one of China's largest textile hubs – the government has invested about $3.9bn in 661 technology-upgrade projects, of which $2.4bn is earmarked for the textile sector, according to state media.In Lanxi city, a pilot scheme was launched requiring 70 local textile enterprises to carry out mechanical upgrades by the end of the year, which is expected to save about $69m per year in efficiency and labour costs. Plans to launch similar programmes in Jiangsu and areas of the Pearl River Delta are also in the pipeline.A new digital printer, which prints 30-metre lengths of cloth in one minute, took four years to develop at a cost of $500,000… it has reduced the workload of eight people down to three, and will pay back the cost of investment in about eight months.""From the perspective of a company, per capita productivity is the priority. The less labour, the higher productivity. Employment or unemployment is not the priority," said Wang. Source: Al Jazeera
Another story of related interest.Almost 40% of Australian jobs that exist today could disappear in the next 10 to 15 years thanks to advances in digital technology. In some parts of rural and regional Australia more than 60% of jobs could be lost.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-33160688
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