Entry #622309, added on 12-05-08 @ 8:33 am EST
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| Robots and Humans... a Relationship Made in Science Fiction? | Entry #622309 |
I hear about so many ways automated services make life easier, faster, and more enjoyable for people, but sometimes I have to wonder.
When's the last time you spoke to an actual person when you called a customer service number? Did the recording have all the answers you needed? Would you have been a little more confident and secure in the service you were getting if you knew it was being given by a breathing, thinking, human? I would.
We have self-check lines, ATM's, pay-at-the-pump service, mail-order and online catalog sites... You used to make a purchase and get a warm handshake and a "Thank you for your business. Have a nice day." Now you get an email that tells you about your order. To me, these 'advancements' were the beginning of the age of robot workers, at least in the sector of the population I live in.
Now there are machines that build cars, electronic devices, and all manner of products. Yes, they need humans to program them for their job and fix them when they break down, but it takes far fewer workers than doing it by hand. This means the loss of jobs for many. Machines were supposed to make things easier, but for whom? They don't make life easier for the person who gets laid off and replaced by the machine. They have to go out and find a new job, wonder where they'll work, how they'll pay the mortgage, and how they'll feed their family. And what about all of the peripheral jobs that are affected?
Where I live, there are several automobile manufacturing plants. Even with machines, they employ thousands of people in the area. When the machines made it possible to run the plant with fewer human workers, surrounding businesses also suffered. Restaurants and shops closed because their customer base dwindled. They had thrived because workers would frequent them before or after work or stop in during their lunch break. When many of these workers were put out of work, business dropped off significantly.
Once out of work, the amount these ones spend at other stores and supermarkets also diminishes. You can't buy groceries without money. You can't buy shoes for your children, school supplies, or other products, either. Exactly who benefited from the machines?
I've heard there is technology in the works that will allow a doctor anywhere in the world to operate on a patient somewhere else. They say it will revolutionize medical care, making the best doctors and surgeons available to everyone without the ill or injured person having to travel the world to reach them. How does it work? There is a robot in the operating room linked to a computer. The doctor does 'virtual surgery' on the screen and his moves are mimicked by the robot on the patient. I don't think I'd like that very much. The popularity of email, online chat, and text messaging have made people impersonal enough. Do we really need robots doing operations? What would happen if the power went out?
Robots, I'm sure, are useful for many tasks, but I don't think artificial intelligence can beat the human brain when it comes to spur of the moment, spontaneous solutions to unexpected problems that may arise.
Robots and humans... I think I'm just as happy to leave that relationship to science fiction for now.  |
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