Reply to: Anyone Else Flying to UK on Friday

[OwlHoot]

2016-12-22 Federal report: AI could threaten up to 47 percent of jobs in two decades

This week, scientists and economic advisers to President Obama released a report on artificial intelligence, including the effects of automation on the US job market and economy. While the report notes the significant potential for wealth gains from increased productivity due to AI, it also warns of threats to existing jobs and an exacerbation of the wage inequality between lower-skilled, less-educated workers and those with higher skills.

[OwlHoot]

Unless there is a fundamental shift in society's views on work and benefits I fear this will make things worse, not better. Not unlike the demise of the mining industry, this time whole swathes of job types will become obsolete in short order, leaving vast numbers of people unemployed and without specialist skills. The NE is still badly wounded decades later and a real automation revolution could be far more serious and happen faster.

The point of automation is often supposed to be to free people from the drudgery of menial work. But while society keeps the view that people 'should' work, this raises problems. We're simultaneously trying to get rid of jobs while criticising those who are unemployed.

You can say the point is to leave only skilled jobs and we simply educate people to be able to do them but even if it's possible to educate all our kids to such a level, those who grew up without that education are left in the lurch for several decades until they die out. Plus of course, maybe there aren't enough highly skilled jobs that need doing.

Bottom line, unless you can find something for those doing the menial jobs to do (and in fact lots of automatable jobs are actually not menial), and a way to give them money that doesn't anger everyone else "they're getting a free ride that's not fair" it's just going to be a huge problem.
Science fiction often portray a society where work is no longer the norm due to automation, only highly skilled people or those who want to work have to... but it rarely explains how we get there from where we are now.

As someone said it's driven by markets. That means there is no noble aim to free people of hard labour behind this. Purely the aim to avoid paying people to do the hard labour. It's going to be hard for governments of the developed world to regulate this transformation if/when it comes.

Credit where it's due, although some of us give doohgy a hard time every now and then, the above is spot on!

[DimPrawn]

Its not just getting bags off, its getting them on in the most efficient configuration to maximise space and balance the load. Humans are still inherently better at it than machines.

You mean a Constraint Satisfaction Problem? No, computers can't do that....

[milanbenes]

Hi Nick,

thanks for the info, double checked and you are right.

Yes it helps but to be honest I wanted to the strike to go ahead I don't think the customers or the employer should allow themselves to be blackmailed by the union.

If we give in this time they will just do it again and again in future - and won't change their behavior.

Milan.

[scooterscot]

Skiing in Austria hopefully!

[greenlake]

is there any reason why the baggage handling is not automated from aircraft to carousel ?

it would be easy to implement, AND, more secure by removing human intervention

Its not just getting bags off, its getting them on in the most efficient configuration to maximise space and balance the load. Humans are still inherently better at it than machines.

Just wait until it's all outsourced to the bobs....

Air India disappoints again! leaves behind luggage of 227 passengers

[NickFitz]

Your immediate concerns are now allayed: UK airport staff call off 48-hour strike, Unite union says - BBC News

[milanbenes]

well it's not going to get better

RPA is coming

https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-...utomation.html

http://www.cio.com/article/3019587/i...utomation.html

that's another swathe of jobs gone

Milan.

[d000hg]

Life is inherently unfair. Most understand that. The gap between the richest 1% and the rest gets bigger each year. Younger people feel increasingly disenfranchised - though it would help if they voted.

The sooner there are driverless trains, cars, planes and airports the better. A lot of the menial tasks can be automated.

Unless there is a fundamental shift in society's views on work and benefits I fear this will make things worse, not better. Not unlike the demise of the mining industry, this time whole swathes of job types will become obsolete in short order, leaving vast numbers of people unemployed and without specialist skills. The NE is still badly wounded decades later and a real automation revolution could be far more serious and happen faster.

The point of automation is often supposed to be to free people from the drudgery of menial work. But while society keeps the view that people 'should' work, this raises problems. We're simultaneously trying to get rid of jobs while criticising those who are unemployed.

You can say the point is to leave only skilled jobs and we simply educate people to be able to do them but even if it's possible to educate all our kids to such a level, those who grew up without that education are left in the lurch for several decades until they die out. Plus of course, maybe there aren't enough highly skilled jobs that need doing.

Bottom line, unless you can find something for those doing the menial jobs to do (and in fact lots of automatable jobs are actually not menial), and a way to give them money that doesn't anger everyone else "they're getting a free ride that's not fair" it's just going to be a huge problem.
Science fiction often portray a society where work is no longer the norm due to automation, only highly skilled people or those who want to work have to... but it rarely explains how we get there from where we are now.

As someone said it's driven by markets. That means there is no noble aim to free people of hard labour behind this. Purely the aim to avoid paying people to do the hard labour. It's going to be hard for governments of the developed world to regulate this transformation if/when it comes.

[sal]

Its not just getting bags off, its getting them on in the most efficient configuration to maximise space and balance the load. Humans are still inherently better at it than machines.

That and the fact that manual labour is far cheaper for that specific task.

Not to mention the fuss the Unions will kick if you even mention automation and redundancies - look at the tube driver strikes over driverless trains.

[NickFitz]

Its not just getting bags off, its getting them on in the most efficient configuration to maximise space and balance the load. Humans are still inherently better at it than machines.

I'm sure they could find somebody fresh out of college who remembers how to implement a solution to the knapsack problem in Haskell

[DaveB]

is there any reason why the baggage handling is not automated from aircraft to carousel ?

it would be easy to implement, AND, more secure by removing human intervention

just get a Van Riet conveyor to connect to the aircraft and woosh all of the bags into the airport, automatically, and scanned for security and no human intervention therefore reducing the risk of tampering

vanriet must have a materials handling solution for this scenario

Milan.

Its not just getting bags off, its getting them on in the most efficient configuration to maximise space and balance the load. Humans are still inherently better at it than machines.

[ladymuck]

To add to the joy, no train services (HEX or Connect) betwixt HAL and PAD 24-29 Dec. You'll have to slum it on the Piccadilly (which is so very reliable) or get your chauffeur to collect you.

[milanbenes]

is there any reason why the baggage handling is not automated from aircraft to carousel ?

it would be easy to implement, AND, more secure by removing human intervention

just get a Van Riet conveyor to connect to the aircraft and woosh all of the bags into the airport, automatically, and scanned for security and no human intervention therefore reducing the risk of tampering

vanriet must have a materials handling solution for this scenario

Milan.

[OwlHoot]

The sooner there are driverless trains, cars, planes and airports the better. A lot of the menial tasks can be automated.

That will make inequality worse than ever