The cost of living vs Technology.
There was recently an uproar to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. California was one of the few states that allowed a raise in the minimum wage to $15.00 hour. While this was a time of joyous occasion for some, it came with some bad side effects. McDonalds was starting to experiment with some automated cashier machines. All the customer had to do is submit the order and it would serve you a nice hot meal. In the meantime, some employees were on the way to losing their jobs. Sad state of affairs.
As a kid growing up in New York City, New York, I would see the personal customer service at a gas station. The attendant would check the oil, fill the radiator with water and fill up the gas tank for you. Sometimes, the attendant would detect some much needed repairs and you would avoid a breakdown along the way. Now, in today’s world, you tap a few buttons on a computer, slip in your credit/debit card and fill up your tank yourself. The oil? You would check it yourself at the gas station. Long gone are the personal attendants to serve you.
Recently, we have seen Uber get in on the act. Having driven for Uber, it was a nice way to make some extra money. Now, recently, Uber had stated that it was experimenting with driver-less cars. It will, only, take a few years until that technology is perfected and the Uber drivers will be history. Technology has its advantages but sadly, the people are who suffer, getting unemployed and without a job.
Robots to the scene
We are seeing how some houses are being cleaned by Robots! This process is in the experimental stages but soon, there won’t be any need to hire any housekeepers. People will have their own robots to assist them in their daily labor of housekeeping. Robots, on the other hand, are good. The US government has been experimenting with the idea of fighting wars with Robots. The Police Departments have some robots that can detect and deactivate bombs. The cost of saving lives is a good positive side of this. Of course, we have the drones which can serves many uses in the government as well as in the business world.
Robots are getting built to where they, actually, look like a human being. In about 10 years from now, we may well see some Robot Policemen as well as some other robots among society. Technology has even created life-like women robots to provide companionship. Some men have expressed a desire to even marry a Robot! Technology is full of surprises and, always, changing but can we expect it to be for the better?
Closing thoughts
I, for one, appreciate technology. I try to keep up with it in the news. It is a fascinating subject to me. When I brought my android, I was on cloud 9, entertaining myself for hours with my new toy. Believe it or not, I have used my android to help me make some money on the side. On the other hand, it is easy for hackers to steal your identity if you do not stay on top. Getting a good virus protection app is a necessity. So, having the good and the bad, whether we like it or not, Technology is here for the long haul. My only thoughts about this is to make the best of it and make it work for you and your family.
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That's one disadavnatage of this technology age. it seems labor c/o of people aren't neede anymore.
Though, most of the technology of today are to make things easier to do.
Athough, when it comes to losing jobs because of robots or automated machine, it is not a good things.
But you see, robots and ATMs have no feelings so, they can't smile or at least be doing extra service like give some additional information about where to go to this place or other things a robot isn't programmed to answer.
Every technology whether Nuclear Technology, Industrial Technology, solar Technology, Computer Technology etc., has got its own limit. They have both advantages and disadvantages.
Earlier there were some writers who were attending to the work of Advocates. They were taking dictations from practicing advocates and were typing the matter at home and handing over them at his residence on the next day morning. The dictation was involving routine instructions, affidavit, case sheet filing, payment of fee in the court etc,
With the introduction of Computers, their work has become very easy. They are not finding it difficult to take dictations at home as the information will be sent to them through cell phone and in some cases through voice recording.
Next, comes the work of a typist in Government and other offices where they were typing minimum 15 pages per day. The officer was checking the work of each typist and was giving a certificate based on which they were getting salaries. They were struggling hard with manuscripts as most of the times they had to type manuscripts which were quite unreadable and confusing. During the time of Assembly Sessions, they were staying in the office and attending the work, cutting the stencil and getting the copies cyclostyled. But, this work is totally absent and is not at all felt difficult. They just type the matter, save it and if any corrections are needed and are to be made they do them, take a print out with beautiful and legible letters.
While the work of the above two jobs has become easy, there are some jobs which have disappeared in the Government and other Private offices.
The job of xerox operator is totally disappeared as their work is attended to in the split of a second and the post is not felt. Everything can be attended to by a single computer operator.
This is not a solitary case. There are many works and jobs totally not finding any place. The work of painter, the translator, Artists, Attendant in a restaurant, Supervisor (they are managed by an APP with the owner watching the stock remaining somewhere),
servers in a restaurant, photographer, stenographers, etc.,
In India, we are still using some power instead of replacing with technology. If this is taken up there will be unemployment problem and many will be on the roads. So, for the survival some fellow human being and with some lenient attitude they are not being replaced with technology. Once it is take up, the pinch of it can be felt.
The effects of technology in the modern age is enormous. Technology gave some people jobs while technology made some people jobless.
I totally agree with your points but I am laying emphasis on women robots, that's totally ridiculous, I can't imagine that men taking them as companions, but my question is, can the women robot warm our body like humans?.
I know robots as house helps though I've not seen it live but on TV.
My conclusion is, people should upgrade themselves to the technological age and be industrious by taking their work seriously, Peradventure they want to lay workers off, you would be too relevant to be sacked.
Thank you for your opinions. I, for one, like to think of technology as a friend instead of foe. There are many advantages for technology and a lot of it can help us in the end. A good example is Israel. Their technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Did you know that they can transform the air into water? Plus, there have been radical technological breakthroughs in the Medical fields. Keep an eye on Israel because it has potential to move up into the technology field with its inventions.
I, for one, miss the personal service we had before computer voice menus started routing our customer service calls. Those voice menus rarely offer the choice that would get me to the department I want. Yet there is no option for "none of these" if none of the choices matches what I need. Sometimes only a real person can sort things out.
There are many lonely people in this world that go to a store or fast food place hoping to connect with another human being -- even if it's only someone ringing up groceries or taking a fast food order. A robot will not offer that human connection.
I think lawmakers need to think of the unintended consequences of the laws they make. I live in California. Our legislators are so busy promoting their own agenda (or that of their donors) and codifying it to please their donors that they don't seem to care that people will lose their jobs or businesses because of all the laws they make.
Technology is a good servant, but not a good master.