The technology thread

[Amiga500]

Amazon pledges parcels in an hour using drone deliveries

Deliveries will be in one area to begin with from late 2024 and only for items weighing up to 5lbs.

www.bbc.co.uk

I see also they are trialling humanoid robots in the US.

Amazon trials humanoid robots to 'free up' staff

The US tech giant is looking at ways it can automate more of its operations.

www.bbc.co.uk

Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg - and for many menial factory operations, it will only ever continue to progress this way*. Outdoors, well, power source becomes an issue.

Loads of improvements to be made clearly; tri-wheeled feet for instance would speed it up quite a bit and use far less power while maintaining stair scaling ability.


*moral of this story being; pay attention in school kids!

 

[SG59_]

I think the middle class are at a greater risk from technology and AI. A lot of those jobs are...to be honest, tedious and mundane, thus making them easy for AI to do in seconds. Once AI and robotics are there, then the rest should worry.

The very way we work or need to will have to change if we're heading that way.

 

[Which Tyler]

We need UBI.
And to tax the super-rich properly

 

[SG59_]

It's going to be a turning point in our history I think. It will change everything quite rapidly and I'm not sure we're ready

 

[Reiser99]

In theory, AI and automation has the ability to be a great equaliser. Get all the low paid jobs run automatically and give people a liveable UBI. Issue is it won't happen like that and the rich will just get richer.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Sadly being a Luddite is not going to be the answer. Those who seek to profit from new tech will do so to seek bigger profits and that means reducing labour costs, even if it means a bigger upfront capital cost (as long as they can recoup it back and in the long run). Better than just outsourcing the work overseas.

It means there is a up-skilling those to use the tech properly and where they fit in the processes of their line of work. But that will also mean those Luddites need to be willing for the change.

 

[SG59_]

Sadly being a Luddite is not going to be the answer. Those who seek to profit from new tech will do so to seek bigger profits and that means reducing labour costs, even if it means a bigger upfront capital cost (as long as they can recoup it back and in the long run). Better than just outsourcing the work overseas.

It means there is a up-skilling those to use the tech properly and where they fit in the processes of their line of work. But that will also mean those Luddites need to be willing for the change.

Depends what you mean by change. "Luddites" are fine with change so long as it doesn't screw them over so some rich lazy person that gets by through nepotism can buy a third house or boat. Usually, those on the bottom have to work the hardest but get paid the least.

I worked in retail during my student days and we had a massive contract change. We were told to accept it or leave. It was awful. Breaks cut and now unpaid, no bonuses from good performance or profits increased by our work, we got a "pay rise" instead which didn't even come close to our bonus pay and was actually a pay cut once you take inflation into account. Who would be happy with that?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Depends what you mean by change. "Luddites" are fine with change so long as it doesn't screw them over so some rich lazy person that gets by through nepotism can buy a third house or boat. Usually, those on the bottom have to work the hardest but get paid the least.

Well change I mean where tech can do the job better and more efficiently. That is what owner managed businesses will be looking at. But there are limitations relating to tech such as AI. This is where the human touch is needed - clients and customers generally don't like speaking to a chat bot unless for really simple questions.

Take data entry as an example - mind numbingly boring task. A human worker will need to take breaks, ensure their eyes are tested. A machine or AI wouldn't need to breaks and can theoretically work 24/7.

 

[SG59_]

Well change I mean where tech can do the job better and more efficiently. That is what owner managed businesses will be looking at. But there are limitations relating to tech such as AI. This is where the human touch is needed - clients and customers generally don't like speaking to a chat bot unless for really simple questions.

Take data entry as an example - mind numbingly boring task. A human worker will need to take breaks, ensure their eyes are tested. A machine or AI wouldn't need to breaks and can theoretically work 24/7.

Indeed, but as stated above, AI and tech is going to take a lot of jobs as a result. I'm fine with that so long as they restructure the way the system works as it's going to be very different to what we have now. Some sort of UBI system will need to be implemented as their simply will not be enough or need for so many in work. Businesses might be rubbing their hands of the prospect of this tech, but they won't be when they discover no one can afford to pay for their services.

It's going to very chaotic judging by the standards of modern politics. AI will need to help create a new system away from broken capitalism I imagine. Probably something like what the scandavian countries do I guess.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

This is definitely unprecedented territory. Previously machines have reduced or replaced specific roles (eg farming, factor assembly). We have never had a case of an entire strata of workforce being replaced. Usually when some jobs were lost to machines in one area, new jobs for those people opened up elsewhere. Now we could have machines that take the old jobs but those same machines would also be capable of doing any of the new jobs as well. Uneducated and unskilled workers as a workforce could end up completely redundant. I have no idea where these people could go next. After them it will then be various skilled workforce jobs vanishing.

I do think my generation and those that follow are going to be on the receiving end of some seismic shifts in the world and serious instability in the future due to AI, robotics, climate change and war and could be the first generation is centuries to not live through a boom period, going from crash to stagnation to crash. I think there is a very real chance that advanced robotics and AI could bring about the collapse of the capitalist system, it's essentially bringing a return of slave labour but with the potential to be even cheaper, better and requiring none of the sustenance of actual slaves.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Just finished a diploma on tax technology. They are trying to reassure tax advisors that they won't be on the scrap heap either. Lol.

 

[SG59_]

Just finished a diploma on tax technology. They are trying to reassure tax advisors that they won't be on the scrap heap either. Lol.

An AI system will probably issue that diploma

 

[Saintjay]

An AI system will probably issue that diploma

I have no idea why my reply for another thread popped here. Either AI or operator error

 

[ncurd]

I'm less worried about AI, ChatGPT and similar is already been proven to be massively flawed when attempting complex tasks that require nuance and genuine understanding. Definitely one of those things where people are getting more excited about it beyond it being a useful tool by an operator than something taking their job.

Its just the new Blockchain great way for multinational companies to burn money.

 

[SG59_]

Ai is very early in development to say that I feel. These things can learn a lot faster than any human remember and once it's learnt it, that knowledge will be passed around a network so all AI systems on it can learn.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I'm less worried about AI, ChatGPT and similar is already been proven to be massively flawed when attempting complex tasks that require nuance and genuine understanding. Definitely one of those things where people are getting more excited about it beyond it being a useful tool by an operator than something taking their job.

Its just the new Blockchain great way for multinational companies to burn money.

I'm not worried about AI as it is now, I worry about it in 30 years time or so. I watch videos on youtube where they get AI playing games and these extremely basic AI can end up outperforming humans with years of experience and who are topping world rankings. Think just how far computing has come in the last 30 years and think it's only accelerating.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I'm less worried about AI, ChatGPT and similar is already been proven to be massively flawed when attempting complex tasks that require nuance and genuine understanding. Definitely one of those things where people are getting more excited about it beyond it being a useful tool by an operator than something taking their job.

Its just the new Blockchain great way for multinational companies to burn money.

Yeah, I use ChatGPT as essentially smart documentation lookup (more often than not: "wtf does this typescript error mean?!")
Anyone who's worried about it actually producing useable code of it's own is way wide of the mark

 

[ncurd]

I'm not worried about AI as it is now, I worry about it in 30 years time or so. I watch videos on youtube where they get AI playing games and these extremely basic AI can end up outperforming humans with years of experience and who are topping world rankings. Think just how far computing has come in the last 30 years and think it's only accelerating.

But a game is very limited box of inputs and outputs so you create very defined limitations around it of what can or can't be done and a very definitive outcome. Once your outside that box or require subjectivity the entire thing falls apart.

Computing processing and complexity has increased massively in the last 30 years. What can theoretically be done and its limitations haven't changed much since Turing wrote what was required ~90 years ago.

 

[ncurd]

Ai is very early in development to say that I feel. These things can learn a lot faster than any human remember and once it's learnt it, that knowledge will be passed around a network so all AI systems on it can learn.

They don't 'learn' and they don't 'create' at all, its a facsimile. AI as it currently is nothing like what science fictions version of AI is.

I mean you use it everyday through search engines they collate the information of the internet and based on you search parameters try to determine the best result. This is no different to the technology behind AI currently it collates information and using input of other users in a similar ilk to give the best answer. But it requires good information to start with and can't have acts of inspirations or working outside of the parameters that have been defined.

I'll admit it looks impressive when people type in some basic stuff and it gives an image or answer but when you dig in its not as impressive.

 

[SG59_]

At this stage, no. Its more at the copying level, but as I said it's early. Very early. We haven't had an attempt by a company to really push it yet.