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Job Automation Is Happening

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@taskmaster4450le
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Technology is replacing more jobs than people originally thought. The pandemic only accelerated things.

People still are clinging to the belief that somehow we will magically going to keep the "job con" going. The reality is the threat of automation has hindered workers for decades. Now, the threat is no more. People are no longer with automation replacing their jobs, they are being replaced.

For example, toll workers in Pennsylvania were furloughed due to COVID-19. Now, they are finding out they were replaced by technology.

This is a situation that is happening across the board. While few are talking about it, the labor force is being drastically reduced in the United States. This is something that is not reflected in the unemployment numbers since that provides an incomplete picture.

Here is a short video that does a good job explaining things.

Over the next couple years, even if things are cleared up, we are going to see a completely new situation. The labor rates across the country will be down and they will not return. People simply are going to have dropped out of the labor force.

In the past I spoke if a couple of people I knew who fell into this situation in 2008. They had decent to good jobs. When the recession hit, they were laid off. One guy made about $80K selling roofing supplies; he ended up driving a cab and bus to make ends meet. The other worked at eBay only to be let go. He had to take Social Security early since he couldn't find another job, most likely due to his age.

A decade plus ago was still the age of the threat of automation. The early 2020s are seeing that reality here. There is nothing that is going to stop or slow this down. In fact, the worse things get economically, the more the pace accelerates. Companies are finding they can do a lot more with less people. Of course, due to COVID, they have the cover they need. After all, employees (people) are dangerous and at risk.

Many in the futurism/technological world came out against the idea of technological unemployment. After all, they claim, technology always created more jobs than it destroyed. The challenge with that is that it is over a longer term. In the present decade, if more jobs are created, it will be down the road. Couple this with the fact that technology is advancing at an accelerating rate and we can see the dilemma.

By the end of this decade, you will see most driving jobs gone. Whether it is truckers, cabbies, or even Uber drivers, they will all be gone. Automation is certain to be going full tilt by 2030.

It is also safe to say that most warehouses will be near fully automated. The pace of automation in that area is rapid. Call centers will no longer exist anywhere but inside a computer since chatbot will be "smart" enough to handle most problems.

This is just a sampling of what will be taking place. How will society deal with this? That is something that nobody in the mainstream political spectrum wants to deal with. We just had a President who thought it was all the fault of China and Mexico. That was a sentiment that was on point, just a decade and a half too late. Now we have someone in the White House who, honestly, has little idea about what is taking place. But then again, how many near 80 year olds can tell you about the impact of technology?

Ironically, not even the automated are safe. Here is a short video of Tesla's new stamping machine. This reduces the number of parts used from 70 to 1. It also eliminates 300 robots from the manufacturing line.

But hey, at least the robots do not go file for unemployment. They simply can be broken down for parts.

It is not going to be a pretty situation going forward and our political "leadership" across the world is completely inept in this area. They are clueless in general in my opinion but when it comes to this matter, they are completely lost.


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