Accounting,trading etc.. So how would people earn a living? Or would folks collect some kind of dividend and just live a life of leisure a perfect life with no worries?
I can see the robots being taxed. Only difference between bots and humans, the robots would be smart enough to leave the country.
I've pondered this scenario before. The entertainment and arts industries would probably be one of the few things left for humans to do. In theory robots should be able to: Plant and harvest food. Manufacture goods. Repair mechanical things. Build houses and other structures with human design input. The list goes on and on and that removes a lot of jobs that humans currently do. You see these shows where the entire assembly line is automated except for one job where some person is standing there throwing packages of chips in to a box for shipping.
Even entertainment and arts can be replaced by computers. Look at Starwars, most of the acting was on a blue screen and computers will get so powerful that we will be able to construct "Virtual actors" Eventually humans will be needed for little except to reap the rewards of robots working for free.
Who is to say we will survive 100 years? With piles of nukes, biologic, chemical warfare and other things getting into the hands of everyone, we might just be one more species on Earth mucking around for food along with the beetles...
"Eventually humans will be needed for little except to reap the rewards of robots working for free." For a king of shorts, you sure are optimistic. I don't doubt the part about robots being productive, the part about everyone reaping rewards though...
The human race will simply be forced to depopulate. Of course, this would happen slowly over time as robots continue to replace more and more jobs.
(Didn't I just post this on another thread?) Bill Joy: Why the future doesn't need us. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html