A creative and rather brilliant article. It leaves unaddressed for now the problems that will naturally arise in a future "robotic nation" because of human nature and the broad distribution of human physical and mental abilities. If you believe as I do that the purpose of computing should be three-fold: to release humans from drudgery; to provide insight, and to accelerate creative and intellectual accomplishment, then you welcome "the robotic nation". Our economy will be forced to change in profound ways to accommodate this new reality. The remainder of the 21st century should be even more interesting then 2Oth was. I envy the infants of today who will get to see it all.
I really don't think the robotic nation will work to allow everyone to be creative, etc etc..Imo, it'll breed crime. Sensless and random crimes were not as prevalent in the past as in the present due to the fact people didn't have the leisure time to stalk, plot, be diabolical, etc People with nothing to do are trouble. They aren't out writing books and drawing, they are looking for ways out of boredom with vice.
Floors look different than they did 20 years ago.... far fewer people.... so, I guess unemployment shot up to 9% in the past couple years because Ford deployed 40 million new robotic arms? But seriously, of course if you don't have a highly technical degree (chem, physics, calculus, programming) and get something that many more have or nothing at all, I mean come on, the competition is going to murder you...this country was built partially on the competition premise. People are so naive, how could you not see this coming? Technology is getting better EXPONENTIALLY. Everything goes back to money... of course if you save money and your corp is out to make a profit they'll screw the low level employees first. Unemployment
To me the crux of the article relates to the fact that factory floors have ceased to be a training ground for skills, promotions, routes up in our society. Coincident with that happening the quality of education for the children of both the poor and working class has fallen apart at the seems. When a society builds in too many dead ends for too many people there is hell to pay down the road. I found this article more informative of the reinforcing, inexorable nature of this combination than anything else I have ever come across. It is not a liberal diatribe dumping on business nor is it the usual drivel from the let them eat cake cut our taxes to as close to zero as possible crowd. Frankly, I think these shifts should concern all of us. It is poisoning the well we all draw from.