Automation’s great – When you’re the manager, not the person turning the widget

This article, with a Phoenix, Arizona dateline sums up much of the issue we have with technology, robotics and automation.

As I teach students about the pioneers of tech, from Edison to Jobs, from Babbage to Berners-Lee, I have to temper it with discussion on what computers in general (and algorithms / automation in particular) are doing for us. Or will do for them when they enter the workforce.

The article states that Some economists have concluded that “the use of robots explains the decline in the share of national income going into workers’ paychecks over the last three decades.”

In a state where autonomous cars are quite common –at least the Waymo variety being test-driven in the Chandler & Mesa area, algorithms and jobs are on top of our minds!

 

 

Tech questions worth asking about self-driving cars and crypto-currencies

Some thoughts around the dinner table:

Self-Driving cars:With the arrival of more autonomous cars (we see several every day around our home) will stores need to reduce their parking lots?

Software lawyers: Could we see a new branch of defense lawyers whose client’s might be an ‘algorithm’ – the self-driving car software that caused the accident?

Poor Eyesight: Will optometrists see a surge of business since kids using more screen time that is recommended by pediatrics, get into glasses earlier in life?

Crypto: What if credit card companies pay us ‘rewards’ points in crypto-currencies?

3D printing: Could we change (upgrade, really) our clothing made with 3D printable ink?