U.S. agency sees robots replacing humans in service jobs by 2025

[OhioChick]

Source: ComputerWorld

Robot workers could 'disrupt unskilled labor markets,' federal report says

November 24, 2008 (Computerworld) A U.S. government intelligence agency thinks robots may be so capable by 2025 that questions such as "Would you like fries with that?" may be uttered by a smiling machine at the order counter.

In a report titled "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World" that was released last week, the National Intelligence Council offered its long-range strategic thinking about the military and economic challenges the U.S. will face from other countries over the next 17 years, as well as the environmental challenges ahead. The report also looks at technologies, and it includes some sweeping ideas about the future.

IT workers have long been familiar with the ways that advances in automation can reduce the need for people, especially in data centers. By 2025, robotics technology will be far enough along to take over low-skill jobs, according to the NIC.

That could provide benefits, such as enabling robots to be used to help provide care for the elderly. But the machines also may be far enough along "to disrupt unskilled labor markets," the NIC said, adding that they could also affect immigration patterns by taking over some jobs now performed by migrant workers.



Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9121385&intsrc=hm_list

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Wow....By then, we won't even have those service sector jobs.

[DJ13]

1. Wow....By then, we won't even have those service sector jobs.

Then we'll have minimum wage robot repair tech jobs.

[OhioChick]

2. And minimum wage will probably be a buck more by then. n/t

[musette_sf]

3. in the meantime...

Facing a Terrible Economy, Japanese Restaurant Uses Monkeys as Waiters

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/11/24/facing-a-terrible-economy-japanese-restaurant-uses-monkeys-as-waiters/

[awoke_in_2003]

22. That's nothing...

we had a monkey as president.

[saigon68]

26. No its a CHIMPANZEE

[sofa king]

40. Heh.

[IndianaGreen]

4. Robots as sex trade workers

No crime to have sex with a machine!

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

16. I'm waiting for the church to say something about this...

:popcorn:

[regnaD kciN]

48. According to Roman Catholic moral law...

...it would be a mortal sin, because it would be intercourse without the possibility of conception. Just like having sex while on the pill.

And, no, I'm not making that up.

:eyes:

[awoke_in_2003]

23. Tell that to the guy

who got himself stuck in a car wash vacuum a few months ago.

[mac56]

25. Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

:evilgrin:

[Lasher]

29. I wonder if they will be lifelike in every detail.

Probably not inflatable.

[regnaD kciN]

49. Take a look...

...here.

[ACTION BASTARD]

44. Then bring on the fembots!

Damn, can you imagine men taking out loans for this year's new model from Nissan? Come see, touch and test drive the new 2035 Nissan fembots "Yumi" & the sporty AWD "Keiko"!

[pscot]

5. Yeah. And we'll all have aero-cars sittng in the driveway.

:think:

[lurky]

6. No service jobs, no manufacturing jobs.

Not everybody can be an engineer or an executive. What to do with all those unemployed people?

[Phoonzang]

8. Concievabably if robots do everything humans will have as much leisure time

as they want. They'd be able to do whatever they want.

[lurky]

12. That's my thought: The End of Work could be a revolution or a disaster.

If it's handled right and people have food and shelter, it could become a cultural golden age. If people have free time to think, do art, enjoy themselves, it would release an immense amount of creativity. Like ancient Athens, but without all that nasty slave labor.

If it's handled poorly, you could end up with a horrible dystopian world with masses of desperately poor and a handful of ultra-rich. Sadly, that seems to be the direction we have been going.

[Phoonzang]

14. Yeah I think we all know which way it would go.

It seems like we (humanity in general) couldn't even conceive of a world we're someone's not on top and someone's not on bottom.

[raccoon]

32. How would they live? How would they pay for anything?

The only way that would work is if every adult got a check or voucher from the government to pay for their needs. I've seen that mentioned in some science fiction literature and articles about the future.

I guess I don't need to say that would be a hard sell in the US of A.

[reggie the dog]

30. soylent green

????

[Greyskye]

38. Manual Labor Robot repair technician

It's the job of the future.

[truedelphi]

7. This entire report was a big yawn

We already have self serve lines at the grocery store.

I tried to listen to the entire affair last week on C Span, but was so sleep deprived that I dozed off.

One of the organizers of the event admitted that he had no clue in fall of 2007 that the financial markets would crash and burn in fall of 2008. Yeah and I have a Bridge in Brooklyn that is possibly a good deal.

Disinformation, pure and simple. The bit of information that was meaningful is so obvious an eight grader could have made the report.

[lurky]

9. Actually, Microsoft unveiled its "Digital Receptionist" a couple months ago.

This is probably an extension of that idea: a talking computer with a camera that identifies you, announces you, and tells you how to find the rest room. I'm sure people won't like it, but people don't like automated phone systems either, but that hasn't stopped them.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

19. Scottie: "Computer... Computer... "

"Computer... Computer... (McCoy hands Scotty the mouse) Aye. Hello computer." -- Scotty, "Just use the keyboard." -- G'vnr Nichols, "Keyboard. How quaint." -- Scotty, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
















I would like to try this at home... walk into my room...and say... Check Email... get P0rn... check Email...

[truedelphi]

46. I'm in agreement withyou that these items exist - it is just

That if this technology is already available, why bother to make it sound like some huge new thing that will ahppen by the year 2025.

The report also highlighted switching over to nuclear power, which it a really dumb idea, but then the CIA contuinuously carries water for the old technology utilities.

Nuclear power can support us for another forty years if we continue the modest amount that we curently use. But if we start having nuclear power plants coming on line continually we will be out of the fuel needed for the plants within ten to twelve.

[maddogesq]

10. That reminded me of this song.

"In The Year 2525"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Year_2525

I was, well, like 9 when this came out. I kind of took it hard then. Just thought about it, that's all.

[Art_from_Ark]

20. You too, huh?

My brother referred to "In The Year 2525" as "that spooky song". That, and the TV series "The 21st Century" (with Walter Cronkite), and 2001: A Space Odyssey made me deathly afraid of the future :scared:

[izquierdista]

11. Another prediction

I see rich people replacing roast beef by 2026. Followed by a beer chaser. :beer: Yum!

[Azlady]

13. We are certainly getting that when you call some companies..

already... computer voices asking you questions before getting to a human.. but to take care of our elderly, frightening, the end of your life and have a robot to talk to.... geez.....

[customerserviceguy]

43. Not much different than the TV

we use to babysit seniors and children...

[acmavm]

15. According to Will Durant, even the Romans had the sense to understand

that some self-enforced obsolesence has to occur in order to keep the 'people' employed. The Romans used human labor when they could have used animals (again, according to Durant).

We need to be learning that lesson. And soon.

[Hannah Bell]

42. Oh, someone does. Thus the high proportion of useless work in our "economy,"

most of it revolving around control functions.

[gauguin57]

17. *note to self* Apply to tech school for robot-repair technology certificate.

Okey dokey. next?

[superconnected]

21. Screw robot repair. Write the virus that keeps taking them out.

[OhioChick]

24. ......

:rofl:

[ohio2007]

18. Who will fix the robots? geek robots ?

[Libertas1776]

27. Robots...

That's just what we need
Now will have workers complaining that robots took their jobs :argh:

Also, to anyone who thinks that robots will bring about some great golden age where man can chillax for the rest of time, they are sorely mistaken.
People want to work, people like to work and feel like they have some self worth at the end of the day, and where exactly would they get an income.

In the year 2025, the unemployed masses will protest and shout at robots calling them "screw-backs" or something, yelling at them to go back where they came from (Japan). :wtf:
Boy, the future is gonna suck big time. :banghead:

[WriteDown]

33. Screwbacks.....

That is just GOLD.

[moggie]

28. At what point does this become slave labour?

Robots will be attractive to employers because they won't need to be paid, and won't have rights. That's ok as long as you're talking about an unthinking hunk of metal and plastic, but if we become able to imbue them with some degree of intelligence, even if it's well below human level, will there be ethical problems with how they're treated?

[Canuckistanian]

31. First I want my flying car. I was PROMISED one, dammit.

And where are all the hovercrafts and monorails?

I beginning to think I've been scammed here.

[Robb]

34. And my freakin' jetpack.

Any futurist who doesn't promise me a jetpack and knowledge pills gets the thumbs down. :D

[Giant Robot]

35. It starts with a robot getting you a cheeseburger

And ends with Arnold Schwarzenegger knocking on your door saying, "Sarah Connor?"

[bemildred]

36. Might as well have robots with all the scripted support systems you get nowadays,

I have thought for some time you could do support with recordings and a little voice recognition just as good as what you get now.

[Nihil]

47. Hell ...

... some of the first line human support that you get these days
would fail the Turing test ...
:argh:

[no limit]

37. That's why you should start learning how to troubleshoot robots

sounds like there will be a career in it soon.

[mbperrin]

39. Why would this take so long? New restaurant already open.

http://www.robotworldnews.com/100545.html
Fully automated 'robot' restaurant opens in Germany
In the southern German town of Nuremberg, diners at 'S Baggers can order, receive, and pay for their food, all without ever having to see a single human waiter. The restaurant is the first fully automated "robot" restaurant in the world, and so far it has been an overwhelming success.

Diners can order food from a touch-screen computer at their table, which sends their order directly to the kitchen, which is located in the roof of the building. Human chefs prepare the food, which is then sent down tracks that weave everywhere throughout the restaurant. Simple gravity powers the plates, cups, and silverware, which are guided down the tracks to the appropriate tables.

The restaurant is not a fast food affair, however, as it offers a wide variety of entrees including steaks and salads. And diners can use the touch-screen computers to look up the organic ingredients of different dishes, and even send e-mails and text messages. Besides the cooks in the roof, there are a few human employees on the ground floor that are available to answer people's questions.

So far, people seem to love it. 'S Baggers is booked out for weeks in advance, with many customers commenting on the fun that the experience offers.

[sofa king]

41. Yeah. I bet they predicted the same thing in 1975.

Although the Roomba has a shot at carving out a new niche for itself as a utilitarian pet.

I keep warning the dog that if she poops on the floor again we're gonna skin her and make a Roomba costume out of her. She knows I'm bluffing.

By the way, anyone want a dog?

[jpak]

45. Skynet is now self-aware

:evilgrin:

[lunatica]

50. Maybe we can all own our own robot to do our work while we get paid...

That would be fair. Accountants could have their robots do the work while they get paid and they can supervise the work.

Waiters and waitresses could have robots do the work and they, the owners get the tips.

:thumbsup: