The Student Room Group

Could your job be done by a machine

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Princepieman
Programming isn't 'machinistic', especially when you get to high level languages. It requires creativity and lateral thinking ability.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Which is still something that machines can emulate. A lot of processes that we consider to be creative can be broken down into mechanistic processes. I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm just echoing what I've read from experts in the field.
Reply 41
Virtually all jobs can be done by machines. Doctors, lawyers, city traders, bankers and any high paid professions will be the first to be replaced since they offer the most pay back to the machines' owners.

Computer programmers programming the machines can also be replaced by computer programs that write other computer programs.

You don't need humans to make things, to grow things or to dispose of things. Machines can replace factory workers, farmers and disposal workers.

The only jobs that can't be replaced easily are the ones requiring lot of original thought and actions like artists, writers, scientists and dancers. They will need original thinking to replace them which but self learning AI could do it.
Original post by BBC Two
Whilst us Brits just sit back and quietly moan about it at the pub saying "there's nothing we can do about it, they've won" over a pint being served by machines. :frown:


But how do people buy the pints if the machines have taken their jobs and they've got no money?

Spoiler

Original post by Feel Tha Bern
Accountants will be slaughtered like the pigs that they are.


LOOL, not all accountants though
Reply 44
Original post by JamesN88
I'm no economist but surely if machines take everyone's job and you're left with billions of unemployed people then the world economy would collapse and it would end with something akin to the French Revolution, the owners of the robots getting the chop?


The French revolution happened because people were denied food and taxed too heavily. If machines made and grew things like cars and food, the world will have plenty of what people need in abundance and cheaply. There would be no need for a revolution unless the ruling class were stupid enough to deny people these things in which case, serves them right.
Reply 45
Original post by JamesN88
But how do people buy the pints if the machines have taken their jobs and they've got no money?

Spoiler



I presume the UK will still have a benefits system, paid out by machines of course?
Reply 46
All these functions can be done by machines.
Original post by Maker
The French revolution happened because people were denied food and taxed too heavily. If machines made and grew things like cars and food, the world will have plenty of what people need in abundance and cheaply. There would be no need for a revolution unless the ruling class were stupid enough to deny people these things in which case, serves them right.


This is a valid question, would people share and thus eliminate the need for violence, but if it reaches that stage, the rich will probably have robocop.
Original post by BBC Two
I presume the UK will still have a benefits system, paid out by machines of course?


Maybe have some sort of system where each person owns a robot and leases it out to out perform labor?

Work by proxy essentially.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Maker
The French revolution happened because people were denied food and taxed too heavily. If machines made and grew things like cars and food, the world will have plenty of what people need in abundance and cheaply. There would be no need for a revolution unless the ruling class were stupid enough to deny people these things in which case, serves them right.


It depends how rigid their approach to Capitalism is. If you look at the decline of industry in the UK and how whole communities were thrown on the scrapheap the question in whether or not they would attempt this on a larger scale, or whether they would learn the lessons of history. If they were stupid enough to try this with almost the entire population then heads would roll.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 50
Thats with the machines you have now, new machines can be made that does all that themselves without human intervention.
Reply 51
Original post by JamesN88
It depends how rigid their approach to Capitalism is. If you look at the decline of industry in the UK and how whole communities were thrown on the scrapheap the question in whether or not they would attempt this in a larger scale, or whether they would learn the lessons of history. If they were stupid enough to try this with almost the entire population then heads would roll.


I think there will have to be a basic living allowance for everyone regardless of whether they have job or not. The decline in British industries like ship building was due to other countries like Korea building them cheaper and faster. But if machines built ships, they could be located anywhere there is a coast line regardless of which country they are built in. Every worker in every country will be affected equally so people will need to adjust to the new world order.
Original post by Plagioclase

Well that's the point, a lot of people would argue that this isn't true! If you've hypothetically managed to create a machine that can do a better job of tasks than humans - and programming is a very logical, mechanistic task so it's definitely something an AI could do - then that removes the need for programmers.


I disagree, programming requires a lot of abstract thinking. The only way I could see machines surpassing us in this regard is if an A.I was created that mirrored the human brain and was capable of learning and responding to things the same way we do. But that's a long, long way off. I very much doubt I'll see that during the span of my career.
Original post by Zargabaath
I disagree, programming requires a lot of abstract thinking. The only way I could see machines surpassing us in this regard is if an A.I was created that mirrored the human brain and was capable of learning and responding to things the same way we do. But that's a long, long way off. I very much doubt I'll see that during the span of my career.


To quote one of the many parodies contained within Star Wars:

"If droids could think there'd be none of us here"
Taxi men WILL be the 1st to go.
a machine can not writeth beautiful plays liketh how i can
im a software test engineer, and even though its an IT job which i guess machines 'can' do, there are parts of my job that i PERSONALLY have to do that a computer will never be able to do, but other parts i guess they could
Original post by Plagioclase
Which is still something that machines can emulate. A lot of processes that we consider to be creative can be broken down into mechanistic processes. I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm just echoing what I've read from experts in the field.


With these so called neural networks, it's not simply a case of either a machine performing one task repetitively or a machine performing a brute force search, they have a genuine intelligence as we saw with Google's program beating the world's best Go player.
Reply 58
Original post by JamesN88
Maybe have some sort of system where each person owns a robot and leases it out to out perform labor?

Work by proxy essentially.


And then watch obesity rates go sky high due to inactivity from the resulting laziness....... :rolleyes:
Reply 59
Original post by BBC Two
And then watch obesity rates go sky high due to inactivity from the resulting laziness....... :rolleyes:


Robot personal trainers!

Quick Reply

Latest