Two-thirds of Americans say AI could do their job::Advanced artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have sparked fears that the new technology could soon replace many careers, and workers believe it, according to a new survey.
Two-thirds of Americans say AI could do their job::Advanced artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have sparked fears that the new technology could soon replace many careers, and workers believe it, according to a new survey.
Right because there definitely won’t ever be machines that can assemble things. Just tell that to the dozen factory workers who were put out of a job by a single robotic arm 20 years ago
I think it’s going to be interesting to watch machine labor continue to evolve.
Currently we have factories full of dedicated machines which specialize in a limited number of tasks. This makes sense because mass production involves doing a limited variety of jobs in a controlled environment, as part of a process that only rarely changes. A more general purpose robot adds little value.
Where things get interesting is when you leave the factory. New construction shares similarities to factory production. You have a mostly controlled environment, a predictable process, and most variables within a given job can be planned for in advance. But you can’t throw a house or office building on an assembly line and move it past stationary robot arms. Which means that machines need to be light and mobile enough to move around a building throughout the process. And without the assembly line, extreme specialization is less practical. Better to have one machine that handles each stage of construction, as opposed to many machines which are only capable of a single task.
I could see some future prototype robot acting as an assistant, and slowly taking over more and more tasks. As it becomes more refined, its performance becomes more reliable, and we move more and more towards autonomous operation with human oversight.
The greater challenge is leaving the controlled environment of a construction site and into the real world. Going into some hundred year old building and assessing the existing condition, formulating a plan of action, and the executing that plan (adapting to unexpected complications along the way) is so much more complex and demanding. It’s entirely possible for AI to get to the point where it can do that, but it’s going to be a much longer journey.
Still, I could picture a more advanced version of that construction robot following a plumber or electrician and providing assistance while learning as it observes. As these trade bots expand their pool of knowledge and experience, they could gain the ability to recognize similarities to previous issues, and may learn to analyze and propose solutions which can be approved by a human on site. With each successful task, the machines get a little closer to functioning autonomously.
With a complex enough AI, we really could reach a point where the only jobs performed by humans are the ones where we value the human involvement. AI politicians probably aren’t on the agenda, and there will always be a demand for human sex work. So if nothing else, know that there will always be a job out there for those who specialize in fucking the people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefabricated_home
See modular and panelized homes
Yes, you can make a building from pieces that were produced on an assembly line. But the vast majority of construction doesn’t happen that way. And even those require labor to assemble.
My point was that the stationary robot arm you see putting cars together make sense in a factory setting, but that it wouldn’t be so practical on a job site compared to something less specialized and more versatile.
Give it a few more years. Robotics isn’t some flash-in-the-pan fad. It’s constantly improving in all kinds of ways. Just look at those Boston Dynamics dogs and leggy bois.
Of particular note is the fact that robotics advancements are part of one of the most powerful forces in the world right now: the military-industrial complex. So today it might be some weapons contractor inventing a drone that can navigate slightly more complex terrain in a bombed-out village, but tomorrow those same technological advancements are going to power the McMansion Assembler 3000.
Here’s the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:
**Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. Some current prefab home designs include architectural details inspired by postmodernism or futurist architecture.
“Prefabricated” may refer to buildings built in components (e. g. panels), modules (modular homes) or transportable sections (manufactured homes), and may also be used to refer to mobile homes, i.**
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