Robots can open doors

[oochymp 2,393]

I couldn't find the thread with earlier videos from Boston Dynamics (if someone can find it please merge this) but they've got one now with robots figuring out doors:

 

 

and we're all fucked

[Barracuda 629]

Haven’t robots been building cars for like years now. Make a thread when they’re ready to take over the Earth.

[BC 331]

^

[seanbrock 1,684]

skynet is coming for us all.

[Barracuda 629]

they already have. Phone/pc/car/tv, etc

Have you ever seen a robot movie? Those are not robots.

[OSUViking 505]

My sociology class discussed how automation could completely replace unskilled labor and may start tapping into skilled labor as well. We discussed pros and cons of this. The cons seemed most prevalent, as it could create a dynamic where workers are not being paid and thus are not able to consume the products being supplied. The modern economy is based around paying workers so they can purchase the services that drive the economy. This would not be the case with the automation in this hypothetical, as robots would be the workers but all they would consume are maintenance fixes and energy.

 

It seems like a worst-case scenario, but I could see us going there. Corporations really do value cutting labor costs to increase profitability, but if they go down this path then it will just be a dead-end. How do you cut down on labor when you've essentially replaced every worker? It was an interesting, if not dramatic, discussion.

[RazorStar 4,025]

In case of something like that, the economy needs to shift to serve the people, not the other way around. Although I don't think that happens without some radical shit going down.

[OSUViking 505]

In case of something like that, the economy needs to shift to serve the people, not the other way around. Although I don't think that happens without some radical shit going down.

 

That's what I thought as well. The only way that'd be sustainable - that I can think of, with my admittedly limited knowledge of economics and sociology - would be for people to receive money simply so they could purchase services. Again, my knowledge on this is limited, but it's hard to imagine a system working where corporations are basically just replacing people because robots are cheaper. I'd say I'm optimistic that we wouldn't let things come to that, but I'm actually not.