Ten Jobs That Automation Won’t Kill Off

[Megalith]

Robots are bad news. If they can't kill you, they'll take your job instead. This writer seems to think that people like CEOs and marketing managers will be immune. That actually makes a lot of sense, since most of them seem to emotionless, cutthroat robots anyway. In any case, I'm sure Tech-Com will be hiring.

There's not much room at the top, especially for automation. I've met a CEO or two with a robotic personality, but machines are unlikely to possess the leadership, interpersonal skills, and intuition that characterize the head of a successful company. These future leaders will, however, have a cadre of machines that provide rapid insights into the health of the companies they command.

 

[trudude]

I would be very impressed if a robot could design and implement custom data center environments for Fortune 100 corporations. I would buy a truckloads of them.

 

[evilsofa]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

 

[tetris42]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

I don't think anyone's implying they'll take away everyone's job. Just massive portions of the current workforce without nearly enough new jobs to offset the difference.

 

[invinciblegod]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

Rich people. All products will refocus to rich people and cost 10000 for a phone to make up for the lack of volume and everyone else will get by on minimum wage welfare and/or die.

 

[demingo]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

That's why people are already beginning the discussions of a post labor economy. In the future it is possible you will just be provided with what you need, and people will be drafted or conscripted to work much like military service in many countries. Serve your 4 years of work doing jobs robots cant do and then never work again.

Technology is going to lead to a massive shift in how we handle resources and goods. Probably not in our lifetime, but possibly for our grand children.

I would be very impressed if a robot could design and implement custom data center environments for Fortune 100 corporations. I would buy a truckloads of them.

That's closer than you think. Robots are being developed for those purposes. There are programs which can do engineering and even architecture (taking aesthetic design into account). There are robots being developed with can do contract law and arbitration. Transportation is roughly 17% of the US economy and robots are damn close to taking that segment out.

The one part people usually mistake about machines taking over jobs is that they need to be perfect. They don't. They just need to be better and cheaper than humans. Even if driver less trucks/trains aren't perfect, if their accident rate and cost to operate are half of a human, the human job is gone.

 

[Ashbringer]

There's only two general jobs that will always never be replaced by automation. Science and art.

Investor relations professional -> algorithm
Marketing manager -> algorithm
CEO -> Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Project manager -> algorithm
Safety officer -> Chappie
Process designer -> probably the only one that can't be automated, cause this falls in art
Middle manager -> if you have humans to manage otherwise no
Technical architect -> Art so yes
Corporate security expert -> Chappie
Automation overlord -> You mean a technician? Even if you used a human to check on the machines, how many humans you need to do this?

 

[Ashbringer]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

You have seen Star Trek right? At some point you'll have to do away with money. Cause if the machines do all the menial tasks, and they will, humans will be around only to better themselves. But before that you'll have a power struggle again between the rich and the poor cause only the rich will be left on top of all this when automation peaks.

 

[rudy]

Hooters waitress, checkmate, oh and time for a sex change.

 

[demingo]

There's only two general jobs that will always never be replaced by automation. Science and art.

Umm http://www.iflscience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-dreams

Art is actually a major focus of AI research right now, and it's very likely to be "solved" soon. Science is not far behind.

 

[Quix]

Well, I'm working my way up to #8 Technical Architect. I'm Lead Programmer now, so give me 15-20 years or so... But I always have my all-purpose backup plan, go into business for myself. Regardless of how good the automation is, someone's got to own it right?

 

[Ashbringer]

Umm http://www.iflscience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-dreams

Art is actually a major focus of AI research right now, and it's very likely to be "solved" soon. Science is not far behind.

It's an algorithm taught dreams. So not really AI. To make working sentient AI we need to fully understand how the human brain works, and we've barely scratch that area. True AI wouldn't run on x86 or ARM processors.

Well, I'm working my way up to #8 Technical Architect. I'm Lead Programmer now, so give me 15-20 years or so... But I always have my all-purpose backup plan, go into business for myself. Regardless of how good the automation is, someone's got to own it right?

Anything involving software projects are to me considered art, and therefore a secure job. It'll be 70 years from before we have a economy melt down as a result of automation.

 

[demingo]

It's an algorithm taught dreams. So not really AI. To make working sentient AI we need to fully understand how the human brain works, and we've barely scratch that area. True AI wouldn't run on x86 or ARM processors.

Your mistake is assuming that AI needs to mimic how the human brain works to reach the same or better results. This is a fundamental flawed assumption.

 

[OlIv0rIolI]

You have seen Star Trek right? At some point you'll have to do away with money. Cause if the machines do all the menial tasks, and they will, humans will be around only to better themselves. But before that you'll have a power struggle again between the rich and the poor cause only the rich will be left on top of all this when automation peaks.

That is a pretty stupid argument, done away with money? only in a utopian fantasy.

Money and price of goods are a derivative of the supply and demand in the market. Things that are plentiful are cheap and vice versa. Without money to inform consumption, all you get is massive waste and mis-allocations of resources. Even in a full automated society, there would still be energy/mineral cost to bring product and services to you.

The fact of the matter is automation should have made everything cheaper, thereby people don't need to work as much to buy the same amount of goods and services. However since we are brainwashed by our central bank to believe that deflation is somehow bad for the economy and printing money/inflation is good, the disparity between rich and poor grew even bigger creating the mess that you see today

 

[Phoenix333]

Skynet would replace all of those jobs. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it sooner.

 

[MarkVI]

Umm http://www.iflscience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-dreams

Art is actually a major focus of AI research right now, and it's very likely to be "solved" soon. Science is not far behind.

No offense, but art can't be "solved." Machines can certainly be taught to compose by programming parameters that mimic effective styles. You could analyze Bach counterpoint and write a program that could produce a fugue from a subject. You could very easily train a machine to create a pop song, since the form and harmonic language are typically very simple.

That's an entirely different ballgame than coming up with something completely original. The greatest artists, regardless of medium, are the ones that upend the way we think about something. You would need a true AI, one capable of completely independent and original thought, to do that. I don't think we're terribly close to that.

 

[nutzo]

That is a pretty stupid argument, done away with money? only in a utopian fantasy.

Money and price of goods are a derivative of the supply and demand in the market. Things that are plentiful are cheap and vice versa. Without money to inform consumption, all you get is massive waste and mis-allocations of resources. Even in a full automated society, there would still be energy/mineral cost to bring product and services to you.

The fact of the matter is automation should have made everything cheaper, thereby people don't need to work as much to buy the same amount of goods and services.

Pretty much this.

We have seen some costs lowered due to automation (look at electronics), but it has been limited so far.

Assuming we have real massive automation (i.e farms or factories that can operate with little or no human intervention), and assuming we have cheap energy to run all this, you will really start to see the cost of products drop. When a contractor can bring out a few robots, and they can build a house in a few days with little or no overview, you will see housing prices drop.

When this happen, the cost of living will drop, and hopefully families will be able to get by on a single income again, and maybe eventually even a part time job.

As for the poor, the cost to provide for them will drop (assuming we can cut back on the bureaucracy by automating it), so a basic standard of living will be cheaper/easier to provide for those who can't/won't work.

 

[illumined]

The idea that automation will take away everybody's job is absurd. If nobody has a job, then nobody has money. If nobody has money, who buys things from the corporations?

It's also absurd because we've been automating ourselves out of the job for more than 200 years now and yet there's still jobs to be had. People who still think otherwise subscribe to the Lump of Labor Fallacy.


In the real world, robots have helped increase wages and productivity without causing total work hours to decline.

 

[Ashbringer]

It's also absurd because we've been automating ourselves out of the job for more than 200 years now and yet there's still jobs to be had. People who still think otherwise subscribe to the Lump of Labor Fallacy.


In the real world, robots have helped increase wages and productivity without causing total work hours to decline.

Just 100 years ago we got cars so automation wasn't relevant back then. You could say we've enslaved machines instead of people cause back then that's what we did for labor. But the future of automation is different in that we can replace any job that is repetitive and follows rules. And unlike people the machines are faithful and unlikely to error.

Like I said lack of labor won't be an issue for another 70+ years from now, but you'll feel the effects long before then. The only reason it'll take that long is because the machines aren't sophisticated enough. Self driving cars can drive you anywhere you want but can't drop a package on your steps or carry cargo off a truck. Not yet anyway.

I'd say in the next 15 years self driving vehicles will cause a massive decline in jobs as well as any desk job that's menial. I actually like they use robots now for phone calls cause I feel better when I hang up on them. But this will be offset by other new jobs creeping up like solar power installers, running fiber, and what I call the medical boom as I expect new technologies will radically change our health and how our health is treated. More specifically anti-aging technology will finally be introduced within 15 years from now in the form of certain medications, stem cells, and etc.

So all those truckers and drivers will now be installing solar panels and running fiber. A lot of office workers will go reeducate themselves in the medical field and help administer these new medical advancements. As a society we'd likely live off this economic boom for another decade or two before jobs begin to decline again but this time no new jobs. Yes prices will go down and people will need to work less but it'll get to the point where the 1st world countries currency will have to change to accommodate this shift in labor.

 

[tangoseal]

Transhumanism = fuck that

 

[tetris42]

It's also absurd because we've been automating ourselves out of the job for more than 200 years now and yet there's still jobs to be had. People who still think otherwise subscribe to the Lump of Labor Fallacy.


In the real world, robots have helped increase wages and productivity without causing total work hours to decline.

I'd really like to see more information that wages are increasing AND without affecting total hours worked. From the article you linked:

"At the same time, while industrial robots had no significant effect on total hours worked, there is some evidence that they reduced the employment of low skilled workers, and, to a lesser extent, middle skilled workers."

I'm guessing those increased wages are going more towards the top of the spectrum. I mean let's look at the math from these variables:

-Wages went up
-Production went up
-hours worked stayed the same
-lower skilled employment may have went down
-middle skilled employment may have went down

Conclusion: There are less people working more hours.