Say goodbye to factory assembly jobs; hello to cheaper products

[Fox McCloud]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xbzcx2pRjc&

This is FRIDA, a "concept" robot designed by ABB that's designed to replace human workers in assembly environments; despite the "concept", it's apparently already been built and is being piloted in a few locations.

Either way, very exciting technology, as this is the future; the gradual elimination of a lot of menial, dirty, etc. jobs by robots. Afterall, once the technology is refined, they'll be faster, cheaper, and better+easier to maintain than human workers.

[cubical]

but but but what about all the jobs...

[Stary Hickory]

Hey if this happens great, cheaper products is nice. People in factories can get jobs doing other things that were not even economically viable before due to limited resources. In the end we will have the factory goods PLUS! the new goods and services that are created with the freed labor. Only in a Keynesian/FDR world is this a bad development.

[Fox McCloud]

Hey if this happens great, cheaper products is nice. People in factories can get jobs doing other things that were not even economically viable before due to limited resources. In the end we will have the factory goods PLUS! the new goods and services that are created with the freed labor. Only in a Keynesian/FDR world is this a bad development.

Exactly--good luck trying to get even your average Joe to realize this though, tragically.

[dannno]

but but but what about all the jobs...

Ya we would be much better off without all this technology, because then everybody could have a job working the fields ;)

[dannno]

Hey if this happens great, cheaper products is nice. People in factories can get jobs doing other things that were not even economically viable before due to limited resources. In the end we will have the factory goods PLUS! the new goods and services that are created with the freed labor. Only in a Keynesian/FDR world is this a bad development.

It's also a 'bad' development, in a sense, for the workers, when you have a government that intervenes in the marketplace and makes it illegal or difficult for people to start new businesses or offer various services.

[Stary Hickory]

It's also a 'bad' development, in a sense, for the workers, when you have a government that intervenes in the marketplace and makes it illegal or difficult for people to start new businesses or offer various services.

For sure, the market needs to remain flexible to adapt to change, however when the government attempts to regulate and maintain the current economic structure(it desires control at all times) then it causes perpetual unemployment. In a free market there is no need to be unemployed and everyone is wealthier to boot.

[Acala]

Sometimes it is a joy to log on here and just breath in the fragrant air of reason and economic literacy. Thanks!

[Humanae Libertas]

Pretty much any job, anyone is expendable and can be replaced.

[ChaosControl]

DEY TOOK OUR JERBS.

But seriously, technological advancements like this are the real way you improve wealth, anything else is just shifting it around.

[belian78]

Hey if this happens great, cheaper products is nice. People in factories can get jobs doing other things that were not even economically viable before due to limited resources. In the end we will have the factory goods PLUS! the new goods and services that are created with the freed labor. Only in a Keynesian/FDR world is this a bad development.

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

[EndDaFed]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

Biofuels? Soylent green?

[cubical]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

Who knows. The market will provide them. If you had asked this question 100 years ago, you wouldn't have received a correct answer either.

[Vessol]

Damn jerb stealerz.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uORAyORWRAA

Exciting stuff though.

[belian78]

Who knows. The market will provide them. If you had asked this question 100 years ago, you wouldn't have received a correct answer either.

I understand how the market will create jobs if left free and less regulated. However I am not understanding how replacing, say 150 factory workers with machines will allow the market to create the same number or more jobs somewhere else. To me, it seems like maybe a few would be kept around for maintenance reasons, but a bulk of them would be completely let go.

[belian78]

Now, I do see where workers replaced by machines would be free to collaborate and start businesses or get other jobs, but at some point technology like this would reach a tipping point, no?

I mean, not even a completely free market could support 70% of peoples being entrepreneurs. (70% being completely random to make a point)

[roho76]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

I program these things. That's a job isn't it? I know someone who builds them. I also know someone who paints them. And then there's the girl who sells them. And the guy who owns the business that buys things that can't be built by this robot like, your dinner.

I just bought this bad boy the other day for a song:

http://www04.abb.com/global/gad/gad02007.nsf/0/5DA9D40A33D63304C12576180040F801/$File/f9a2_720.jpg

It runs on 220 so I can hook it up in my garage. I can program it to do anything. I just need to figure out what I'm going to make with it and then install an appliance plug in the garage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goNOPztC_qE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goNOPztC_qE

[juleswin]

am sure all those robots are going to need frequent servicing. At some point robots will create some jobs and free up a bit more jobs. Its a net loss but in no way a total loss

[RonPaulIsGreat]

That thing would make a great hamburger flipper.

So, really if that thing works well, and is sealed well enough to work in a greasy environment. You could have a literal workerless (besides a maintenance guy coming in every few days) fast food industry.

It won't be long before cars have real computers in them standard, and the fast food restaurants will display the menu on your in car touchscreen (of course as an option), or you can talk to the centralized call center/ or computer if ordering granny style.

I'd say you want to go into robots, electrical engineering, or any of the hard sciences if you want employment post 2025. Either that or entertainment/arts etc..

[nobody's_hero]

Skynet. lol.

[Thomas86]

I understand how the market will create jobs if left free and less regulated. However I am not understanding how replacing, say 150 factory workers with machines will allow the market to create the same number or more jobs somewhere else. To me, it seems like maybe a few would be kept around for maintenance reasons, but a bulk of them would be completely let go.

This is a statement that follows from 'conventional economic thinking'.

In free market economics jobs are not limited at all. They are simply the product of entrepreneurs combining the available resources in an economy to create more wealth than the cost of the individual resources (this process is referred to as 'efficient allocation').

If labor is unused by this type of production because of automation - there will be a new unused human resource that will be available for entrepreneurs to factor into their economic calculation. The 'next best' job for this type of labor will only be found after this particular job, "manufacturing", is removed from the hierarchy of wants/needs for society.

Keeping this in mind - when you see unemployment - it is ALWAYS because government has prevented entrepreneurs from combining resources at the value which leads to wealth creation (due to minimum wage/taxation/regulation).

[Stary Hickory]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

Sure,

Grocery delivery service, no more going to get your groceries

Video games of a much higher quality do to bigger staffs and more personnel

In fact personnel and quality improvements in a variety of industries and services could be possible. More personal trainers at Gyms, services that were barely affordable would become within the reach of more Americans. It has widespread effects, when you can add manpower and labor to existing service industries with no relative extra cost.

[Fox McCloud]

It's impossible to say what kind of jobs would be created; heck, it could be a whole new industry. Who would have predicted that the freeing up of resources during the latter half of the 20th century would have led to the Internet? That's created hundreds upon thousands upon thousands of jobs; who would have ever predicted that would be a consequence? No one, to my knowledge.

[Stary Hickory]

It's impossible to say what kind of jobs would be created; heck, it could be a whole new industry. Who would have predicted that the freeing up of resources during the latter half of the 20th century would have led to the Internet? That's created hundreds upon thousands upon thousands of jobs; who would have ever predicted that would be a consequence? No one, to my knowledge.

Exactly you can predict quality to improve in many areas where adding people adds to quality but still there are undiscovered services and products still waiting for us. It is a combination of both, the movie industry 80 years ago did not involve nearly as much technology and manpower to produce films, but now we have huge projects that are undertaken. These people would have previously worked in agriculture or doing other tasks which technology made obsolete.

And still yet we have new services and products which were unheard of 80 years ago as well. It's impossible to predict because know one knows everything, and no one can predict the preferences and actions of the millions of free market participants in the economy.

[newbitech]

It would be nice to be able to live off of 5-10 hours a week. That will never happen in a fiat/fraction/money is debt(credit) society. Get rid of the robots that print money out of thin air first, then put these other poor robots to work!

[123tim]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?

I don't want a job. :) I want cheaper and cheaper products that are made by machines.... This way, I won't have to work so much for someone else. I can work for myself and do amazing things. Making enough to survive on wouldn't nearly so much of an issue.

Imagine the Freedom.

On a side note, any job that this assembly robot can do has (for the most part) been outsourced to China for it's cheap slave labor work-force. (At least in my area.) Maybe things will be cheaper for the Chinese as well. It might give them a little time to think about things other than breaking their backs for us.

Just my opinion.

[axiomata]

That thing would make a great hamburger flipper.

And if you're rude while giving your order it won't spit on your burger!

And it won't unionize - demanding 40 hour work weeks, free maintenance, and maternity leave.

[RM918]

And say hello to robotic engineering jobs?

[S.Shorland]

Just to play devils advocate here, and partly because I'm genuinely curious, can you give examples of the jobs that would be viable by replacing factory workers with automation like this?
Human goalposts.The more efficient the production,the cheaper the goods and the less time worked needed to buy them.People might only need to work three days a week.It's the highly specialised workers who,if superceded by technology,lose their jobs that can be in trouble if they can't retrain but progress is always a good to society overall.