Robots are one of the hottest properties in the world of technology. The technology, or at least the concept, is nothing new. Since the turn of the 1900s. there have been tales of killer robots from the future and/or other planets coming to earth to wipe us all out.
Fast forward to modern times and robot technology has evolved into to a much more sophisticated and efficient proposition. Many modern industries rely on robots to automate their manufacturing process. Ever since the first ‘model t’ ford rolled off the assembly line, robots have been destined to take our place performing repetitive tasks without the need for breaks, wages or HR management.
The Future Of Robotics
The future, however, paints a more bleak picture for many of us, with robots now becoming smarter, more agile and coupled with big data and artificial intelligence seem on a more dystopian path of dominance that Henry Ford himself could’ve dreamed of, although we’re not quite on the Orwellian scale just yet. Self-driving cars, drones and the internet of things are now considered commonplace. Taxi drivers, truck drivers, pilots and many others risk losing their jobs to autonomous vehicles.
Companies such as Über, Tesla, and Google’s Lyft have all successfully tested self-driving cars and have predicted that robots will be driving all of its cars by 2021 but it’s the successful tests in Europe by large truck manufacturers like Volvo, Scania, Man and others that threaten millions of jobs worldwide.
The Threat Of AI
Artificial intelligence and the use of it to perform much more complex tasks is a much greater threat to us all however. Doctors, lawyers, scientists and many others risk losing their jobs to machines that can learn in just days, hours and even minutes what it takes many of us years and even a lifetime to learn.
Aside from manufacturing services, many technology firms in different sectors have seen this trend evolve and are well ahead of the curve in documenting clear machine-to-machine learning service solutions which they themselves offer their clients as a secondary business function. We predict that this will soon become a primary function within the telecommunications sector, for example, where the Internet of Things is seeing unprecedented exponential growth that even a robot couldn’t have predicted in the pre-iPhone era of the early 2000s.
The past tales of killer robots wiping us out may have seemed far-fetched one hundred years ago but the current reality is that we may already be wiping ourselves out and replacing ourselves with machines. Robots, machines and artificial intelligence as we know outperforms us in many tasks.
The Concept Of Taxing Robots
Bill Gates is just one big player who believes we should start to tax robots. As we know robots do not pay tax like humans so this makes perfect sense to me. However, paying taxes is just one thing that robots don’t do that we humans do.
Robots do not commute, take lunch breaks, socialise, buy work clothes or uniforms, drink coffee, spend money or vote. These are all daily routines for many of us. These are routines that many others rely on for their own jobs. Baristas, transport networks, restaurant owners, clothes shops, cafes and bars all rely heavily on commuters, workers taking lunch breaks or socialising after work.
When we replace these workers with machines we also replace the income of many others with nothing. Very soon our cities could become ghost towns with the best outcome most of us can hope for is having some kind of universal income to rely upon and governments are beginning to seriously debate the state of affairs not if but when these eventualities come to pass.
This is not enough for me. Politicians and governments need to do more to protect us all before it’s too late. How soon will it be before we have AI that can more effectively do the job of a politician? Is this what we need before they take action?
Robots do not vote! People vote and it’s time that the people we vote for protect our jobs. Make no mistake, we’re all for technology and advancement. We wouldn’t be so interested in the topic of machine advancement if we weren’t; but surely some legislation is now needed to stop us replacing ourselves before it’s too late and we have passed the tipping point.
The Digital Dub 