Will Robots Take All the Jobs?

A handful of high-tech firms in New York City are building machines that will one day become our secretaries, surgeons, and maids. Reason TV Contributor Naomi Brockwell visited three of these companies to find out how their products could change our relationship to machines. Will robots ultimately take all the jobs?

The companies we visited are Honeybee Robotics, which makes machines for NASA, and the aerospace, medical, energy, and mining industries; Robotbase, which is developing a personal robot called "Maya;" and Bond, which has produced a machine that can mimic a users' handwriting.

About 4 minutes.

Shot, produced, and edited by Jim Epstein; hosted by Naomi Brockwell.

[qhack]

I am not afraid of robots taking over our jobs... I am afraid of the humans who will have a bad reaction to them taking their jobs.

[MovieCompoundBoat]

Everyone that I talked to that is interested in robotics, AI, or technology in general seem to all shit on that CGP Grey video stating all the jobs were going to be lost in the not-so-distant future to technology.  I believe that technological advances help produce more jobs.

[paulharris]

True fact: The late Alan Turing, who invented the computer as much as anyone, was a lefty who disliked the British managerial class. It was his hope that computers would one day level the playing field between intellectual work and manual work. "Meritocracy" in the future might refer to a society where physical dexterity is more valued than a high IQ.

[TickedOffPriest]

Alarm clocks put knockers out of business. In the olden days, there was a person who was paid to wrap on windows and wake people up. They are out of work, but how many people are employed in design, construction, shipping, selling, and material acquisition?

[zantrua]

I love capitalism. It's amazing to think that just a few years ago, a taxi was something reserved for a special occasion, where as now I can take an Uber to school for less than the price of my car insurance, and soon, robotic cars will make that even less.

[fbibarbie]

I am not normally creeped out by robots but that kick starter robot creeps me out for some irrational reason.

[donstacy]

I will gladly vacate my job for a robot.

[ivanafox]

I spoke to my psychic about this and she said robots will take 99.99% of our jobs. The world will be chaotic.

[rhaacke]

This issue is over hyped. If no one works then no one has any money to buy anything. This means that the robots that have "stolen" all of the jobs will have no reason to produce anything. Therefore, some sort of balance will automatically be reached.

[KeeganIdler]

I've been against a guaranteed minimum income for so long it's a shame to have to back-track on it.  But I really think it is the only way to live in a world where robots get better and better at doing everything that we would do.  Having everyone on the dole is bad, but unemployment is worse; it softens the blow a bit to think of everyone as retired rather than on welfare.

[RonaldoFearsEboue]

The problem is that we live in a system that demands something in return. To say that robots will just give us free time may not be true if we have nothing to offer corporations. 

[SuperLuckyLad]

Face a fact, most jobs are crap. The problem isn't loosing the job, its loosing the income. The technology is evolving and it isn't going to stop. So I suggest we start moving to a national annual income that every adult over 18 would get, say £8500  p.a., people would still be able to earn what they like above that but that portion would be taxed.

[SirTenenbaum]

Pleeease let the robots work for me! I hate working. 

[davematherly]

there are some at the lowest rung of the ladder who could do nothing else but menial tasks, these folks would have nowhere to go but on massive public assistance; draining the economy further.

[SurrogateActivities]

this is how a video without sam hyde looks like

[Loathomar]

The system for a world/contry where robots do most of the work; We need to start somewhere so, for the ideas sake, we start today. Setup a tax system like the fair tax, where every citizen is paid a set amount, the same amount for every person over 18, working or not. Lets say we put the total amount given out = the current federal budget, so everyone gets ~$12K per year, though now everyone pays the same tax rate and it is only a consumption tax. $12K is shit to live off now, but people are free to work or not work and keep all income. But the set amount increase or decreases with GDP per capita, so if the GDP per capita of the last 30 years is the same as the in the next 30 years, the real (inflation adjusted) growth of this paid a set amount would be $20K, now a married couple has $40K to live off, not unreasonable. 
   This system makes it so work is optional, but still wanted by the vast majority of Americans (few want to live off $20K), but not having a job does not equal abject poverty and suffering. Crimes down from need drop, lowering the insane cost of our legal system.

[Buffalo]

"I'm not afraid of it, we built them." has to be the weakest pro-robot argument I've ever heard. Humans have built many things we should fear, starting with the first man-made fire.

[OOCASHFLOW]

Cool video but almost zero useful new information about whether or not robots will take our jobs

[paulharris]

Claim: Even if robots do all the work that would just leave us time to do what we want.
Reply: What we want to do is work. We want to have the sense of power and self-sufficiency that comes from paying our way. If robots do all the work, how is the wealth distributed? 

[someonenamevalencia]

so how do we buy things???? in the future??? Cause you know not everyone a business man nor a genius.-.