You: fired! - Robots: Hired!
This is just the beginning!
I don't expect many people to be able to see ahead, in to the next 5-10 years, but the very first roots are taking hold. A couple dozen years ago we saw very clunky robotic machines coming in to the manufacturing field replacing human workers. The auto industry is a good example. At the time, there was a BIG uproar at how people were losing their jobs to machines. Now, it seems almost silly not to have robots doing many of those types of tasks.
As our technology advances (at exponential rates) we're always seeing robots coming in to new areas. NOW, it seems they are even writing news articles! Yup.. financial news is reported by company XYZ and in .3 seconds there is a robot who's written up a couple paragraphs about it, and has it out and available for human consumption.
Wired has a good article just written up about this same topic, with more robots coming in to the workplace. Marshall Brian has written up an EXCELLENT (and long) paper called "Robotic Nation", in which he goes in to a much more detailed picture of this whole scenario, and, actually, it sounds a bit creepy as to something that could really happen.... robots enslaving us for our own good?
Personally, I quite agree with his highly negative views. I'm much more optimistic about the future interaction between man and machine. I do agree with him the machines could (and probably will) over take normal humans in many areas... but I feel as these technologies advance, then we will see humans blending more with machines, than staying apart from them. Even right now with our almost constant connection with cell phones, wifi, etc... I think we'll start to see people integrate even further with techno-gadgets the internet. I've already decided that when the technology is here, I will replace one of my eyes with some tech gadget that will save everything I see to a hard drive, with GPS location data, and "tags". Not only that, but it will be fitted with infrared, telephoto zoom, and any number of other enhancements. Since I will probably also be connected to the net (wifi) then I could upload those images to something like Google's Picasa, and with their new image recognition software, could find out who that person across the room is, and then see any other web pages they are involved with.
Yes... the future is racing toward us, and more robots will be taking jobs, but it's more likely than not, that we humans will use the same technology to enhance ourselves right along with the robots that we create.
I don't expect many people to be able to see ahead, in to the next 5-10 years, but the very first roots are taking hold. A couple dozen years ago we saw very clunky robotic machines coming in to the manufacturing field replacing human workers. The auto industry is a good example. At the time, there was a BIG uproar at how people were losing their jobs to machines. Now, it seems almost silly not to have robots doing many of those types of tasks.
As our technology advances (at exponential rates) we're always seeing robots coming in to new areas. NOW, it seems they are even writing news articles! Yup.. financial news is reported by company XYZ and in .3 seconds there is a robot who's written up a couple paragraphs about it, and has it out and available for human consumption.
Wired has a good article just written up about this same topic, with more robots coming in to the workplace. Marshall Brian has written up an EXCELLENT (and long) paper called "Robotic Nation", in which he goes in to a much more detailed picture of this whole scenario, and, actually, it sounds a bit creepy as to something that could really happen.... robots enslaving us for our own good?
Personally, I quite agree with his highly negative views. I'm much more optimistic about the future interaction between man and machine. I do agree with him the machines could (and probably will) over take normal humans in many areas... but I feel as these technologies advance, then we will see humans blending more with machines, than staying apart from them. Even right now with our almost constant connection with cell phones, wifi, etc... I think we'll start to see people integrate even further with techno-gadgets the internet. I've already decided that when the technology is here, I will replace one of my eyes with some tech gadget that will save everything I see to a hard drive, with GPS location data, and "tags". Not only that, but it will be fitted with infrared, telephoto zoom, and any number of other enhancements. Since I will probably also be connected to the net (wifi) then I could upload those images to something like Google's Picasa, and with their new image recognition software, could find out who that person across the room is, and then see any other web pages they are involved with.
Yes... the future is racing toward us, and more robots will be taking jobs, but it's more likely than not, that we humans will use the same technology to enhance ourselves right along with the robots that we create.
posted by rock808 at 8/30/2006 05:36:00 PM
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