Technology has always been changing the work force. Right now, technology is making labor more and more obsolete.
So, I had a job as a cashier last year. Today, when I go to that same store, I see fewer and fewer human cashiers and more and more self-check outs. Pretty much every store is moving in that direction.
As of now, I work in a call center. But, besides the fact that so many call center jobs are either part-time or being shipped to India, businesses are also getting automated systems that reduce the number of calls the call center has to take.
And, yeah, brick and mortar businesses are disappearing because of online shopping. About the only businesses that aren't going online are restaurants and grocery stores (and they probably would, if we didn't need food fresh). I used to love book stores and music stores, but those are almost gone. Those Friday nights where you go to Blockbuster, pick up a movie to watch? Gone. The video arcades that I spent countless hours in growing up? A thing of the past. The internet has found a way to replace all of them.
The theme remains the same: labor is becoming obsolete because of technological advances. But that creates a problem: what happens in another 20, 30 or 40 years? How many more jobs will be obsolete because of technology? And what do we do with all those people who lost their jobs, their careers, because of technological advances?
Sure, there are people who think we can resist this by working harder or cheaper, but let's be real here: it didn't matter how hard John Henry worked, he wasn't going to be able to out rivet the machine and even if he could, it costs a lot less to operate the machine than it does to keep him alive. As time passes, the machines will get better, faster and stronger while humans basically remain the same. A human at a cash register or driving a car will soon be as obsolete as a human operating elevators.
There's going to be some big changes over the next century and we need to be economically ready for those changes. We aren't. It's going to be a difficult transition.
So, I had a job as a cashier last year. Today, when I go to that same store, I see fewer and fewer human cashiers and more and more self-check outs. Pretty much every store is moving in that direction.
As of now, I work in a call center. But, besides the fact that so many call center jobs are either part-time or being shipped to India, businesses are also getting automated systems that reduce the number of calls the call center has to take.
And, yeah, brick and mortar businesses are disappearing because of online shopping. About the only businesses that aren't going online are restaurants and grocery stores (and they probably would, if we didn't need food fresh). I used to love book stores and music stores, but those are almost gone. Those Friday nights where you go to Blockbuster, pick up a movie to watch? Gone. The video arcades that I spent countless hours in growing up? A thing of the past. The internet has found a way to replace all of them.
The theme remains the same: labor is becoming obsolete because of technological advances. But that creates a problem: what happens in another 20, 30 or 40 years? How many more jobs will be obsolete because of technology? And what do we do with all those people who lost their jobs, their careers, because of technological advances?
Sure, there are people who think we can resist this by working harder or cheaper, but let's be real here: it didn't matter how hard John Henry worked, he wasn't going to be able to out rivet the machine and even if he could, it costs a lot less to operate the machine than it does to keep him alive. As time passes, the machines will get better, faster and stronger while humans basically remain the same. A human at a cash register or driving a car will soon be as obsolete as a human operating elevators.
There's going to be some big changes over the next century and we need to be economically ready for those changes. We aren't. It's going to be a difficult transition.
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"If you cling to something as the absolute truth and you are caught in it, when the truth comes in person to knock on your door you will refuse to let it in." ~ Siddhartha Gautama
"If you cling to something as the absolute truth and you are caught in it, when the truth comes in person to knock on your door you will refuse to let it in." ~ Siddhartha Gautama
