• SaraTonin@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Yeah, robots doing drudge work is exactly the future we were promised. It’s just that that’s supposed to allow humans to have more free time to pursue their interests, not die in a ditch from starvation.

      • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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        4 months ago

        I think something like UBI is basically an inevitability. If government’s try to ignore the problem the entire economic system will collapse, there’ll be a lot of production going on, but there won’t be anyone to buy any of the products. So they will have to introduce UBI.

        However it would be nice if they could introduce it before the inevitable civil wars and civil unrest force them to.

        • SaraTonin@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          I certainly hope you’re right. But let’s not forget that when the industrial revolution eliminated a lot of jobs for a lot of people, those people were allowed to just starve to death in the street. It took a full generation before new jobs were created.

          Basically what you’re saying is that this time round the wealth disparity is so much worse and there are so many more people living in or near poverty that the entire global economy couldn’t withstand the poorest being out of work. That feels like a weird thing to say that you hope someone is right about but…I hope you’re right about it.

          But, I dunno, we’re talking about the same attitude that saw several large corporations try out a 4-day/32 hour working week, discover that productivity stayed the same or even went up…and then went right back to the 5-day working week. The same attitude that sees people seriously suggesting that people who work from home should work extra hours unpaid because otherwise they’ll be able to have the time they otherwise would have spent commuting for themselves.

          Also, of course, there’s the fact that a large number of people live in poverty and already can’t afford basics like 3 meals a day, let alone buying take-out, or a TV, or going on holiday. And Jeff Bezos isn’t campaigning to end child poverty even though doing so would enable people to spend more on Amazon.

          I really think the only way that we’ll ever truly get something like UBI is if one of two things happen - governments who are genuienly invested in the welfare of their people introduce it, or there is enough mobilisation to put enough political pressure on governments to force them to introduce it. At least there are places that are trialling it, so it’s not unthinkable, but I don’t think the “there will be nobody to buy goods” argument really holds up, because those that that affects already demonstrably don’t give a shit.

    • HubertManne@piefed.social
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      4 months ago

      Yes but blowjobs will never be cheaper or more plentiful. Well not for me or you but for the person we service it will be quite a deal.

  • etherphon@piefed.world
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    4 months ago

    thisisfine.jpg

    Destroying millions of jobs to shave 30 cents off an item, or rather pocket it, what could possibly go wrong.

  • ryper@lemmy.ca
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    4 months ago

    Maybe if the robots get damaged at the same rate their workers get injured they’ll get more interested in safety.

  • Usernameblankface@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    When the job requirements are so unsustainable and the safety is so sketchy that they plan for a high turnover rate, robots are the better option.

    Yes, people have paid their bills because of these jobs. But I have a hard time believing that the money makes it worth the damage to their health that will follow the worker through their career. There are many other jobs like this that are better left to a machine or else lower the expectations per worker to improve working conditions

    • etherphon@piefed.world
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      4 months ago

      I guess there must be other facilities that are much worse, or it depends who your managers are, but when I worked at a FC I thought it was one of the easier jobs I’ve held. I feel like people on this site haven’t worked very much or had very many hard jobs lol.

  • blackn1ght@feddit.uk
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    4 months ago

    Technology has been replacing manual labour for a long time, this is hardly surprising. Some jobs will be created though as the robots need monitoring and maintenance.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      4 months ago

      I love that we’ve come up with a slur for AI, but I do think it’s kind of stupid. Clankers are robots, but there’s plenty of AI taking people’s jobs that has no effective physical presence. We need something more original.