Jobs at risk due to automation - what to do?

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  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 10,023
    PJPOWER said:
    Meltdown99 said:

    PJ_Soul said:
    Starbucks is doing it too - you can just order and pay online via their app shortly before you get there, walk in and pick up your order. Some Tim Horton's outlets are doing it as well.
    Wouldn't know about Starbucks ... I know Tims is doing that, Dominoes does that as well, with dominos you get the option to pay in-store, which I always choose...
    I often pay in-store when ordering pizzas just because I like taking a look at the pie before actually purchasing it.  If it’s a shitty looking job, you can either say “fuck it, i’m going elsewhere” or just ask them to fix whatever mistake was made before finalizing the purchase.  Maybe i’m a bit of a pizza snob, lol
    21st century problems...haha
    Yeah, I'm against paying for stuff like that before you receive it, if something is wrong it's a lot easier to just walk away if you haven't paid for it. I've never had to do that, but seems like it would be more common if everything was prepaid. 
    What I really hate are those casual dining restaurants where you still wait in line to order, but are a little fancier than fast food. WHat I hate is they ask for a tip with the order, before you even see the food. I used to feel bad not tipping, but not anymore, why tip for something that hasn't even happened yet? I don;t know if my food isn't going to be burned. 
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,997
    benjs said:
    mace1229 said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    cincybearcat said:
    brianlux said:
    Meltdown99 said:
    I refuse to use the automatic ordering system at McDonalds.  It's also not faster, I've seen people start their order before me and I've got my food before them.  It's far easier to tell a person what I want than a machine. 
    Same thing for me at the check out stand at the grocery store.  I like having real people to talk to instead of some dumb machine saying, "Welcome to Raleys, have you inserted you club card yet?" 
    I find I’m way more capable then most of the people doing that job, so I prefer self checkout 
    I like self checkout because I don't bag my groceries like an idiot, as some cashiers do. Although when a cashier does bag my stuff properly, I am happier having gone with the human.
    I am often disappointed in myself in how poorly I bag my own groceries. 
    Amen. Not to stereotype, but I think it's because I'm a man. I've rarely seen a man who has natural instincts in spatial awareness or strategizing the way women do. Just one of many skills I feel women are more likely to possess than men!
    I'm awesome at it. 

    one of my few incrediby useless skills. 
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  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    I somehow can not see the drive thru being automatic?  And from my observation most people prefer the drive thru...
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,886
    Meltdown99 said:
    I somehow can not see the drive thru being automatic?  And from my observation most people prefer the drive thru...
    There certainly doesn't need to be anyone taking drive thru orders. That part is very easily automated - it just requires good voice recognition software. Really the only part that will be hard to automate is the actual preparation of the food and moving to the hands of the customer ... if that. Honestly, given what technology can do, having fast food preparation completely automated (aside from the people who I guess would have to stock the machines with the ingredients) isn't very out there at all. It would just take some machinery, likely similar to what you already see in manufacturing plants. 
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,886
    edited April 2018
    Meltdown99 said:
    I somehow can not see the drive thru being automatic?  And from my observation most people prefer the drive thru...
    There certainly doesn't need to be anyone taking drive thru orders. That part is very easily automated - it just requires good voice recognition software. Really the only part that will be hard to automate is the actual preparation of the food and moving it into the hands of the customers ... if that. Honestly, given what technology can do, having fast food preparation completely automated (aside from the people who I guess would have to stock the machines with the ingredients) isn't very out there at all. It would just take some machinery, likely similar to what you already see in manufacturing plants.  I'm not saying I think this is what will be done in the next 10 years or whatever - I'm just saying this idea isn't crazy by any means, and if humanity can ever pull its collective head out of its ass and manage to make shitty jobs like putting burgers together at McDonald's obsolete because nobody is considered lowly enough to do that kind of work and nobody has to in order to make ends meet, this sort of food prep automation wouldn't be hard to manage.... And unfortunately, it wouldn't even be so hard as to make it a possibility just as a way for corporations to save money. I'm sure it would also be much faster than humans, as well as absolutely consistent in terms of quality.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    In Asia there are many highly automated food preparation kiosks/vending machines that make things much more complex than a hamburger. This technology already exists. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,886

    oftenreading said:
    In Asia there are many highly automated food preparation kiosks/vending machines that make things much more complex than a hamburger. This technology already exists. 
    Oh really? Well, there you go. I knew the technology was more than possible given how things are made in factories, but didn't know that it was in use for fast food prep yet.... although I have seen videos of those automated sushi joints in Japan, where the food comes out from some mysterious back room, past your table and around the whole restaurant on a conveyor belt, and you just grab whatever you think looks good.... Doesn't seem hygienic though, lol.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Kev - Coat and Keys
    Kev - Coat and Keys Earth Posts: 357
    My thoughts on this conversation... It sucks people losing jobs as giant corporations cut costs for profits,
    but as it seems so many people still think McDonald's is food... I can't wait for our robot overlords.
    Bring on the future, humanity is failing, what next?
  • cp3iverson
    cp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    Anyone see that xfiles episode last month?  The one about automation?  
  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    It's coming.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-4LU79qbU

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,760
    I ran into a guy who agreed with my theory that A.I. is turning people into machines.  Now that I think about it, he sounded exactly like HAL.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyFPKRuWX4

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    Slightly OT, but did everybody watch Ex Machina?  Good AI show.

    To fix automation taking jobs, quit breeding so much!  Problem is like Idiocracy, ignorant Trump voters will outbreed us.
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    PJ_Soul said:
    Meltdown99 said:
    I somehow can not see the drive thru being automatic?  And from my observation most people prefer the drive thru...
    There certainly doesn't need to be anyone taking drive thru orders. That part is very easily automated - it just requires good voice recognition software. Really the only part that will be hard to automate is the actual preparation of the food and moving to the hands of the customer ... if that. Honestly, given what technology can do, having fast food preparation completely automated (aside from the people who I guess would have to stock the machines with the ingredients) isn't very out there at all. It would just take some machinery, likely similar to what you already see in manufacturing plants. 
    LOL...Why. The same person who takes my McDonald’s drive thri order also is the cashier.  There’d be no savings...Lol
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • Halifax2TheMax
    Halifax2TheMax Posts: 43,066
    I can’t wait for the lawsuits from the hacked AI order taker food server bot telling the driver, and their kids, that they could afford to skip a meal and be given a bag of carrots and celery instead. Maybe even weigh the vehicle at the window and do the math to sell data based on your license plate to health and life insurance companies? 
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  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,760
    Smellyman said:
    Slightly OT, but did everybody watch Ex Machina?  Good AI show.

    To fix automation taking jobs, quit breeding so much!  Problem is like Idiocracy, ignorant Trump voters will outbreed us.
    Will check out Ex Machina.

    Bolded part, right on.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,886
    edited April 2018

    Meltdown99 said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    Meltdown99 said:
    I somehow can not see the drive thru being automatic?  And from my observation most people prefer the drive thru...
    There certainly doesn't need to be anyone taking drive thru orders. That part is very easily automated - it just requires good voice recognition software. Really the only part that will be hard to automate is the actual preparation of the food and moving to the hands of the customer ... if that. Honestly, given what technology can do, having fast food preparation completely automated (aside from the people who I guess would have to stock the machines with the ingredients) isn't very out there at all. It would just take some machinery, likely similar to what you already see in manufacturing plants. 
    LOL...Why. The same person who takes my McDonald’s drive thri order also is the cashier.  There’d be no savings...Lol
    But it would cut down on the amount of work a person has to do in general. When there is less work to do in any given position, that necessarily amounts to fewer positions filled overall. I.e., say nobody has to take those orders... that would free up half their time, which perhaps would lead to them filling that spare time by taking over some other work inside, which in turn takes that work from another staff member... Now that staff member has only half a workload, and it isn't hard at all to just create a few extra efficiencies to render that entire shift redundant. Whenever any amount of work is automated, there is a trickle down effect.
    Besides, it is beyond easy for them to just include a debit machine next to the microphone, eh. A cashier really isn't necessary either. Once you automate ordering, it only makes sense to automate payment.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,760
    What would society be like if people don't have meaningful work, or a least gives them a sense of purpose?  We're already looking at a whole generation of millennials that are dealing with wide-spread depression an ennui.  Add to that listless, lacking purpose and too much spare time and we're looking at a disaster in the making.  
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,959
    brianlux said:
    What would society be like if people don't have meaningful work, or a least gives them a sense of purpose?  We're already looking at a whole generation of millennials that are dealing with wide-spread depression an ennui.  Add to that listless, lacking purpose and too much spare time and we're looking at a disaster in the making.  
    It would be terrible, mostly.  But that is assuming that the people want meaningful work.  All just based on personal experience but it seems like less and less people are interested in meaningful work.  They are more interested in commenting on social media about how awful everyone and everything is while they stay in their pjs at their parents house well into their 30's.  

    But seriously, as we have seen in the inner cities, if there isn't something productive to do and a sense of purpose....something fills that gap and it generally isn't good.
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  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,886
    brianlux said:
    What would society be like if people don't have meaningful work, or a least gives them a sense of purpose?  We're already looking at a whole generation of millennials that are dealing with wide-spread depression an ennui.  Add to that listless, lacking purpose and too much spare time and we're looking at a disaster in the making.  
    There would still be plenty of useful things for people to do Brian. Maybe read the article that cincybearcat posted closer to the beginning of this thread - it addressed this topic.
    The idea is that people couple spend their time on more admirable types of work, like self-betterment, education, volunteerism, creativity, variety, artistry, etc. The way we have it set up now is definitely not the best possible way of life, to say the least. Slaving away in a capitalist society just to keep our homes and comfort is not my idea of a meaningful existence, frankly. I find meaning despite the way society is arranged in capitalism, not because of it.

    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,760
    edited April 2018
    cincybearcat said:
    brianlux said:
    What would society be like if people don't have meaningful work, or a least gives them a sense of purpose?  We're already looking at a whole generation of millennials that are dealing with wide-spread depression an ennui.  Add to that listless, lacking purpose and too much spare time and we're looking at a disaster in the making.  
    It would be terrible, mostly.  But that is assuming that the people want meaningful work.  All just based on personal experience but it seems like less and less people are interested in meaningful work.  They are more interested in commenting on social media about how awful everyone and everything is while they stay in their pjs at their parents house well into their 30's.  

    But seriously, as we have seen in the inner cities, if there isn't something productive to do and a sense of purpose....something fills that gap and it generally isn't good.

    PJ_Soul said:
    brianlux said:
    What would society be like if people don't have meaningful work, or a least gives them a sense of purpose?  We're already looking at a whole generation of millennials that are dealing with wide-spread depression an ennui.  Add to that listless, lacking purpose and too much spare time and we're looking at a disaster in the making.  
    There would still be plenty of useful things for people to do Brian. Maybe read the article that cincybearcat posted closer to the beginning of this thread - it addressed this topic.
    The idea is that people couple spend their time on more admirable types of work, like self-betterment, education, volunteerism, creativity, variety, artistry, etc. The way we have it set up now is definitely not the best possible way of life, to say the least. Slaving away in a capitalist society just to keep our homes and comfort is not my idea of a meaningful existence, frankly. I find meaning despite the way society is arranged in capitalism, not because of it.

    Good points both.  If menial work were supplanted with creative work, that would be healthy.  Creativity, done with purpose, meaning and/or effort can be good work.  Volunteerism and education- great work.   But if Cincy is right and everyone just sits around and comments on social media hanging out at their folks in their pajamas, we will have a whole generation or more of highly dissatisfied people.

    Speaking of meaningful work, I must go attend to mine!  Catch ya'll later.

    Edit:  Don't mean for that ^^^ to sound so arrogant.  I hope selling used books is meaningful work!  :smile:
    Post edited by brianlux on
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

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