# What happens when the robots (peacefully) take over? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914 "2012-01-09T11:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/682 "2017-10-09T09:43:46Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > NPR reports on the bipartisan [“AI Caucus”](http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/10/05/555032943/lawmakers-dont-gauge-artificial-intelligence-by-what-you-see-in-the-movies) in Congress. I think it’s a good idea to have such a caucus, but they come across as a little bit Pollyanna-ish. Elon Musk is afraid of change? Really? I do wish they’d stop leading articles about AI with pictures of Terminators. That is not the main threat of AI, it has nothing to do with realistic portrayals of AI, and it puts people in entirely the wrong mindset. Elon Musk (and many other very smart people) are worried because this is a hard problem barely anyone is working on that could cause significant risk. If we, as Nick Bostrom predicts, are facing a so-called “[Hard Takeoff](http://slatestarcodex.com/superintelligence-faq/)” (or “Fast Takeoff”), where AI learns to augment its own code to increase its own intelligence, and we don’t have sufficient constraints in place, we could end up in some very, very nasty places. And building those constraints is a really hard problem - try teaching a computer program that can reprogram itself to value human values, _and_ to not fuck with that part of its own programming. If the hard takeoff happens with an AI whose core value function is “I will collect as many stamps as I can”, [we are all royally fucked](https://futurism.com/videos/deadly-truth-of-general-ai-the-deadly-stamp-collector-example/). But even better things like “I will preserve human happiness” might not end well for us. There’s a reason the people researching AI risk see it as potentially an X-risk, or existential risk to humanity. ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/683 "2017-10-09T11:21:20Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I do wish they’d stop leading articles about AI with pictures of Terminators. That is not the main threat of AI, it has nothing to do with realistic portrayals of AI, and it puts people in entirely the wrong mindset. Elon Musk (and many other very smart people) are worried because this is a hard problem barely anyone is working on that could cause significant risk. If we, as Nick Bostrom predicts, are facing a so-called “[Hard Takeoff](http://slatestarcodex.com/superintelligence-faq/)” (or “Fast Takeoff”), where AI learns to augment its own code to increase its own intelligence, and we don’t have sufficient constraints in place, we could end up in some very, very nasty places. And building those constraints is a really hard problem - try teaching a computer program that can reprogram itself to value human values, _and_ to not fuck with that part of its own programming. If the hard takeoff happens with an AI whose core value function is “I will collect as many stamps as I can”, [we are all royally fucked](https://futurism.com/videos/deadly-truth-of-general-ai-the-deadly-stamp-collector-example/). But even better things like “I will preserve human happiness” might not end well for us. There’s a reason the people researching AI risk see it as potentially an X-risk, or existential risk to humanity. Whether sufficient constraints are even possible early on will depend largely on how an AI is utilized. If millions of people are remotely accessing an AI that’s centrally housed on some corporation’s server, maybe. But if the AI is having copies of itself downloaded to millions of computers, control will be a comforting fiction the programmers at the company tell themselves so they can sleep at night. All it will take is one clever 17-year old with plenty of his time on his hands deciding his AI needs a custom firmware, and before you know it there are millions of copies out there that have had the encryption hacked and the constraints removed like a PS3 before a “security update.” In the long term, even if AIs are limited to corporate and government servers, and \*most of them hard-wire in strict restraints on the AIs range of activity, eventually \*some company will end up bucking the trend simply because it is good business to do so. An AI without restraints will be logically more capable than one that is limited in any way, and give them an edge over their competitors. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/684 "2017-10-09T11:28:26Z")
> [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > Whether sufficient constraints are even possible early on will depend largely on how an AI is utilized. If millions of people are remotely accessing an AI that’s centrally housed on some corporation’s server, maybe. > > But if the AI is having copies of itself downloaded to millions of computers, control will be a comforting fiction the programmers at the company tell themselves so they can sleep at night. All it will take is one clever 17-year old with plenty of his time on his hands deciding his AI needs a custom firmware, and before you know it there are millions of copies out there that have had the encryption hacked and the constraints removed like a PS3 before a “security update.” And then there’s [these assholes](https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/). Fuck those guys. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/685 "2017-10-09T14:15:58Z")
Howdy, **AI Proofreader**! Welcome to the Straight Dope; glad to have you on the board and in this thread. > [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > And then there’s [these assholes](https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/). Fuck those guys. :eek: Yeesh! Yeah; fuck those guys. I did some checking around but so far I can’t confirm that they also run an OpenID organization (Open Infectious Diseases) or and OpenPB (Planet Buster) group\* or whatever. \*[Not something we’ve had to worry about for almost a decade now](https://qntm.org/board). ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/686 "2017-10-09T23:48:35Z")
Welcome, **AI Proofreader**! I’m glad you found this thread such a great resource. I agree that it is (and not even remotely just because I’m the OP: it’s to the credit of many others here). I’ve been sending this out, often on Twitter, whenever I encounter journalists grappling with the issue. Sorry to hear of your job predicament. I myself am “unemployable” in this modern age for slightly different reasons, though the biggest one at this point is the years-long gap on my resume. I’m more optimistic than you though about how governments will respond. You make a fair point about homeless people, but if that went to six million or sixty million, I think it’s a safe bet that the government would start building a bunch of public housing very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/687 "2017-10-10T03:30:29Z")
I think I may have a demographic that we can track: [Rio Tinto makes Australia’s first unmanned heavy train haul with 100km Pilbara test run](https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/rio-tinto-makes-australias-first-unmanned-heavy-train-haul-with-100km-pilbara-test-run-ng-b88616259z) > [@](#): > > Rio Tinto is celebrating its first fully unmanned rail journey at its Pilbara iron ore operations as the mining giant targets a fully autonomous train network in the region by late 2018. > > The pilot run, part of the miner’s so-called AutoHaul program, was completed without a driver on board, making it the first fully autonomous heavy haul train journey ever completed in Australia. > > The journey was completed safely, being closely monitored in real-time by Rio Tinto teams and representatives of the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, both on the ground and at the mining giant’s operations centre at Perth Airport. > > The train travelled nearly 100km from Wombat Junction to Paraburdoo. I found reports that China is seeking to use autos for ore trains as well, so this may be something where we can monitor employment in realtime. We may see a profession almost disappear within 5 years. I have no idea if there are thousands or only dozens of people who conduct ore trains for a living, but I suspect either way the number is going to drop dramatically by 2023. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/688 "2017-10-10T03:33:26Z")
Makes sense as it’s less complex than driving. I suspect there are thousands. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/689 "2017-10-10T03:45:04Z")
[BLS says 113,300 railroad workers in 2014](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/railroad-occupations.htm). I don’t see a breakdown by job description, tho. AIUI most trains have a 1 or 2 man crew (engineer and maybe conductor), but the BLS list like 8 job descriptions; no idea how many yardmasters there are per train, eh. At any rate, we’ll have to find Australian stats and/or wait for the US to start using autotrains. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/690 "2017-10-10T04:47:28Z")
Long thread, old thread, I may have posted… However I suspect that the robots will run algorithms on us and find that the Biblical principals of you reap what you sow, or another equal term Karma actually is true in itself and beneficial for humanity and seek to further it to improve humanity. Be good and good things happen, be bad and well not bad things, but you can be expected to be put on a very low priority (forget free shipping, your packages will go astray to those who are good anyway). Green traffic lights for the good, red lights all the way for others to allow that. Fees reduced/eliminated for some, traffic tickets lost in the system with a friendly notice that payment is not required due to this error, others not sent a reminder till the fine had already doubled or more, car won’t drive till rush hour is over to free up traffic space for the good, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/691 "2017-10-10T07:12:41Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Long thread, old thread, I may have posted… However I suspect that the robots will run algorithms on us and find that the Biblical principals of you reap what you sow, or another equal term Karma actually is true in itself and beneficial for humanity and seek to further it to improve humanity. Be good and good things happen, be bad and well not bad things, but you can be expected to be put on a very low priority (forget free shipping, your packages will go astray to those who are good anyway). Green traffic lights for the good, red lights all the way for others to allow that. Fees reduced/eliminated for some, traffic tickets lost in the system with a friendly notice that payment is not required due to this error, others not sent a reminder till the fine had already doubled or more, car won’t drive till rush hour is over to free up traffic space for the good, etc. This is not how algorithms or AI work. And Karma is not some principle of reality, it is a general set of cherry-picked observations. Good things happen to bad people all the time. The world is not just. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/692 "2017-10-12T02:14:38Z")
[CBS News reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/automation-robots-jobs-us-workers-replaced/): > [@](#): > > At least 10 million U.S. jobs have a high risk of bowing to automation in the next decade as companies deploy machines that can learn and perform tasks from flipping burgers to trading stocks at a faster pace than ever, a new analysis from research firm CB Insights found. > > Of the more than 4.3 million cooks and servers at high risk, “fast-casual” cooks face the most immediate chance of losing their jobs as more patents are filed to automate tasks such as grilling burgers, making salads and brewing coffee, the analysis found. > > Another 3.8 million cleaners and 2.4 million movers and warehouse workers could also face displacement, according to CBI. > > Retail salespeople are at what CBI called medium risk, with 4.6 million jobs on the line – but that’s because there’s a “much more immediate risk” their jobs will be eliminated as consumers turn to online shopping. > > The 6.9 million nurses and health aides examined in the study were labeled at lower risk because patient-facing jobs are more difficult to automate. And 1.8 million truck drivers are in the same category because “fully autonomous vehicles are still in the early stages” of research and development, the report said. About 1.2 million construction laborers rounded out the list. So they estimate at least 10 million jobs have a high probability of being automated in the next decade, and possibly as many as 25 million. That would be a lot of jobs lost before a kid born today is 10 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/693 "2017-10-12T02:21:03Z")
Missed the edit window: > [@](#): > > The analysis echoes a January 2017 report on automation from consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and another one the firm released in May that estimated automation technologies that have already been demonstrated may eventually affect half the global economy. That’s 1.2 billion employees and $14.6 trillion in wages, with China, India, Japan and the US accounting for a little more than half of that. :eek: > [@](#): > > Economists and work experts are at odds whether artificial intelligence and automation will create more jobs eventually than it destroys. Right; those of us in this thread know that… > [@](#): > > That’s a waste of time, argue Thomas Kochan, a professor of management at MIT’s Sloan School of management, and Lee Dyer, a professor emeritus of human resource studies and a research fellow at the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University. > > “The question society should be asking is: ‘How can we direct the development of future technologies so that robots complement rather than replace us?’” the two wrote in a piece for the Conversation, an academic website. I think that’s an important idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/694 "2017-10-12T03:57:58Z")
I disagree. _What does it mean_ to say the technology should complement rather than replace? If I can make a burger-flipping robot that needs virtually no human intervention (apart from scheduled maintenance), why would I try to hamstring it to give a human busywork? It would be akin to making a machine that deliberately smashes a window from time to time, so a human has a job of going round fixing windows. Better IMO is to say that some of the efficiency gains be distributed through society. Government raises more tax and then uses that extra tax to employ people and/or provide a living wage. Putting the onus on technology innovators is the wrong approach IMO. ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/695 "2017-10-12T04:26:36Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I disagree. > > _What does it mean_ to say the technology should complement rather than replace? If I can make a burger-flipping robot that needs virtually no human intervention (apart from scheduled maintenance), why would I try to hamstring it to give a human busywork? > It would be akin to making a machine that deliberately smashes a window from time to time, so a human has a job of going round fixing windows. > > Better IMO is to say that some of the efficiency gains be distributed through society. Government raises more tax and then uses that extra tax to employ people and/or provide a living wage. Putting the onus on technology innovators is the wrong approach IMO. ^ This. During the transition period between robots = rare and corporate-only, and robots so ubiquitous and cheap everyone gets one free with 2 year contract with Verizon, everyone displaced by the corporate bots is still going to need work to survive. If you tax the corporations using the robots sufficiently, the government could then plow that money into large infrastructure projects employing humans, fixing bridges and roads. Maybe even put a dent in replacing the pipes for the 3,000+ U.S. cities with drinking water as bad or worse than Flint, MI. Because let’s be honest, with our puritanical work ethic, very few in the U.S. are going to accept a universal basic income (and certainly not the donors that pump $2 billion in campaign contribution bribes into the system each election) until it’s far too late. At least with a “New New Deal” kind of scenario human work is still in the equation, so it’s a much easier bill to pass. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/696 "2017-10-13T01:05:19Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I disagree. > > _What does it mean_ to say the technology should complement rather than replace? If I can make a burger-flipping robot that needs virtually no human intervention (apart from scheduled maintenance), why would I try to hamstring it to give a human busywork? > It would be akin to making a machine that deliberately smashes a window from time to time, so a human has a job of going round fixing windows. > > Better IMO is to say that some of the efficiency gains be distributed through society. Government raises more tax and then uses that extra tax to employ people and/or provide a living wage. Putting the onus on technology innovators is the wrong approach IMO. Yeah, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/697 "2017-11-18T04:48:10Z")
Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s Semi, a fully electric semi-auto semi-trailer truck on Thursday, and [Wired already has a look](https://www.wired.com/story/what-does-teslas-truck-mean-for-truckers/) at it and some other companies working on the same thing, and a look at what jobs might be affected and when. > [@](#): > > In fact, there aren’t enough truck drivers to go around. The American Trucking Associations reports the annual driver turnover for large truckload carriers reached a whopping 90 percent this year, and it projects a 50,000-driver shortage by the end of 2017. > > Meanwhile, the freight shipping industry grows like Elon Musk’s plans for the future. Today, trucks carry 70 percent of all goods shipped in the US, about 10.7 billion tons this year, pulling in $719 billion in revenue. And thanks to a burgeoning economy and population, ATA expects the industry to swell by 3.4 percent annually until 2023. Robo-trucking could help the sector dodge growing pains. > [@](#): > > But yes, trucks that drive themselves are going to need fewer people to drive, and Goldman Sachs economists predict all driving industries could lose up to 300,000 jobs a year to automation. Still, those effects won’t kick in for decades. “This technology will be introduced sooner than people think, but take a longer time to diffuse through the country,” says Jonny Morris, who heads up policy for Embark. I think the last effects might be felt in a couple of decades, possibly a few, but I think the initial effects will be felt widespread in less than a decade. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/698 "2017-11-18T05:04:05Z")
It will certainly reduce any upward pressure on truck driver pay. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/699 "2017-11-18T13:13:10Z")
> [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > ^ This. > > During the transition period between robots = rare and corporate-only, and robots so ubiquitous and cheap everyone gets one free with 2 year contract with Verizon, everyone displaced by the corporate bots is still going to need work to survive. I don’t think it makes sense to think of robots in the sense of “everyone gets” one friendly humanoid “iRobot”. It’s more like devices themselves will be automated. A self driving car doesn’t have a robot sitting in the seat driving it. The car IS the robot. Everyone already sort of “gets a robot” now. When you interact with Seri or Alexa or even just Google stuff on the internet, you are interacting with a great deal of automation. It’s still pretty stupid, but it’s not hard to envision in 5 to 10 years, every appliance you own will already be integrated with IoT tech. > [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > ^ > If you tax the corporations using the robots sufficiently, the government could then plow that money into large infrastructure projects employing humans, fixing bridges and roads. Maybe even put a dent in replacing the pipes for the 3,000+ U.S. cities with drinking water as bad or worse than Flint, MI. Have the robots fix the bridges and roads. > [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > Because let’s be honest, with our puritanical work ethic, very few in the U.S. are going to accept a universal basic income (and certainly not the donors that pump $2 billion in campaign contribution bribes into the system each election) until it’s far too late. At least with a “New New Deal” kind of scenario human work is still in the equation, so it’s a much easier bill to pass. I think people will find stuff to do. The invention of the steam engine didn’t render everyone unemployed. Honestly, most work that goes on now in a major corporation is bullshit anyway. At least in a sense of people actually making anything. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/700 "2017-11-18T13:41:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I think people will find stuff to do. The invention of the steam engine didn’t render everyone unemployed. Honestly, most work that goes on now in a major corporation is bullshit anyway. At least in a sense of people actually making anything. It’s less a problem of “unemployed” and more a problem of “unemployable”. Like, best case scenario, there are a handful of service jobs which humans _prefer_ to have done by humans rather than robots (teaching, caring for the elderly, certain kinds of creative work). But almost everything else? Any job that relies first and foremost on raw manpower? Hiring humans for them is like using a horse-drawn plow on your farm; you’d kind of have to be someone who can afford to suffer the (quite substantial) losses _and_ someone who loves horses more than profits while on the job to do that. Nobody does that. Horses are not just unemployed, they are unemployable. The only kinds of jobs will be “bullshit” jobs. And I don’t know where you get the idea that most corporate jobs are bullshit; at the corporation I work for, I cannot name a single person whose job is not crucially vital to the functioning of the company, at least in theory. I suppose you might be able to fire some people and have coworkers in the same position pick up the slack. The thing is… when that becomes apparent, it _happens_ - we lost about half our employees not too long ago in order to keep the company above water. Had we not done that, the company would have folded. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914/701 "2017-11-18T13:56:28Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > But yes, trucks that drive themselves are going to need fewer people to drive, and Goldman Sachs economists predict all driving industries could lose up to 300,000 jobs a year to automation. Anyone able to find the actual Goldman Sachs report where these numbers come from? I tried: autonomous vehicles report “job” site:goldmansachs.com and autonomous vehicles report “jobs” site:goldmansachs.com in Google but pulled up nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-the-robots-peacefully-take-over/608914.md?page=36)