why are people so against automation in factories if it makes things safer and produces more goods? is it just that people are losing jobs? but there are different jobs that open up.
In: Technology
There are more jobs but not in the same sector. People struggle to adapt when the change is so sharp.
Simple answer is that machines are much better at doing relatively simple work, so much better that they can outwork several people.
So even if only 10% of the manual labour jobs are mechanized the human workforce looses a lot more than 10% of it’s jobs. Also someone who’s only held low skilled mechanical jobs for most of their life it’s not easy to adapt and learn new skills to compete in that job market.
Shortsightedness. Human resources are the one limiting factor of everything. By freeing up human resources with automation, they can be invested in things that still require humans.
The problem is that this hurts the particular human in the short term, but benefits every other human in the long term.
If you think about it it’s kind of silly that we have to work at all. Most of the necessities are produced without much effort, water and electricity supply is mostly automated, farming at large scales uses heavy machinery, so basic foods are also relatively easy to produce. The population size also isn’t increasing dramatically, so it would be possible to give everyone an apartment. And that is basically all you need to survive…
You’re assuming the same number of jobs will be created as those lost and they will be of the same quality. Many people believe this is why, despite the massive increase in productivity over the last 50 years, wages have stagnated.
The new jobs tend to be poorly paid and have little security.
The world is moving faster and faster but people can’t or refuse to adapt as fast. As lower end jobs are gone, you can’t expect the same amount of people to learn a higher end job like computer programming within a year or even five years. I lost my job due to outsourcing to India. I was lucky to find another career 12 months later.
The people that will lose their jobs probably won’t get another one. The jobs that are going to be replaced by machines are “easy” and the people who do it usually are not qualified for higher job positions that can’t be replaced by robots.
Learntocode all over again
Jobs open up, but not in the same field. You can’t expect all the jobless to learn a new vocation. Not all jobs are entry level. Many jobs require skilled labor and that skill is not easily acquired.
Higher level of job which a person with low education who just cuts metal for example wouldnt be able to move up to become a machine maintenance bloke. Would have to find another factory that doesnt used automated machines
[Here’s a great video that covers a lot of the issues.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSKi8HfcxEk)
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