We thought the rider fell off or something and it was going to crash. Then it turned and kept mowing. Park Roomba!
Another picture:
Sad really. Somebody lost a job to that. Minimum wage probably, but still a wage.
Sometimes its the only job available. The company with the contract to mow, do you think they now pocket the difference? Because thats what will tend to happen with automation.
Okay, so? Change what you do. Progress always does that. Window knockers lost jobs, miners lost jobs, now it is time for mowers. Which most likely won’t happen anyways since it’ll be the companies that own the robots.
But there’s no UBI to allow the person without a job to skil upl into something else that a robot can’t do.
Somebody gained a job programming and servicing that mow-bot; maybe even a whole team. Maybe the original driver wrote the path and manages it now.
I get the sentiment, and agree that there’s value in keeping labor jobs reserved for people who need them, but using automation isn’t inherently evil.
When my company moved our production operations to automatic lines and robots, they promoted everyone to machine operators, taught new skills, and paid out more. It may not be the way every company handles the change, but it can be done, and it’s a better path forward than forcing people to accept a life of hard labor.
I remember placing some large equipment in China some decades ago. There was a crane onsite but instead of using it the Chinese insisted on using many men with bamboo poles. We thought it was odd and hilarious that they had to do such make-work. Now here we are. This is why I litter and don’t put my shopping cart away. People need jobs.
Nah, the guy was still there. He had to bring the robot to the place where it had to mow the lawn and he was observing it to make sure it didn’t fuck up. Plus, I’m sure he still had to do stuff like weed whacking, so his job is safe for the time being.
I’m pretty sure this is a remote controlled mower, not an autonomous one.
I was going to make a morbid joke about the driver having already fallen off and into the blades before you took the photo, but the fact that there’s no seat on that mower defeated that plan.
The lack of seat is why they fell off!
Not bad, not bad at all.
It’s an old flash game where falling off of your lawnmower and getting mown by it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.
I was there with a group of parents and kids for a teen meetup. We did think he fell off at first. Then it turned by itself and we were all like “wtf?”
Well I’m glad it ended up being automated.
I admit, it’s very impressive and cool to see in person, but at what cost? This particular instance has taken away someone’s job. There is no human remotely controlling it. Now imagine how many of these are currently out there and will be deployed in near future? For each one there is someone’s income being taken away. Sure, we can argue that this autonomous machine has create jobs becuase, some had to build it. Yes, it’s true, but those hired to manufacture are fraction of the lawnmowers needed to cut grass not one but throughout the spring had summer seasons. In a broader context, this is becoming an issue for many low skill jobs and essential jobs. (i.e. self-checkouts at fast foods and other retailers, security posts in airports, malls, etc.) Look up Amazon Digit to see what amazon is up. While many will find it beneficial and this is really hurting the class that needs the money the most, needs the health benefits that comes from there income.
Mowing lawns are boring and you look at it the wrong way. In a better future less people have to work their ass off, enjoying more free time to do whatever they want to do. Maybe spend time with your kids, go out fishing, hiking, do whatever. This is a future I want to see and the more jobs “lost” to robots, the better.
Now for this to be true there have to be large changes in how everything works. Basic income is one thing for example. Nobody should be suffering over not working their ass off but we are not there yet and today exactly as you say, there is probably someone who doesn’t need more money just getting more cash in their account instead, sadly.
I share this sentiment, however, you are talking about the system wide change. This is a long-term solution or a mid-term with revolution. I am talking about in the context of the current social and economical environment where no such system exisit. First there needs to an effort to more towards eliminating human labor for the benefit of the people BEFORE human labor is eliminated. Corporations and the rich do not care about the former. We cannot fall into this trap. AI and autonomous machines can be great for society as long as it is not at the cost of the working class. Technology is there or fast approaching, but society is not, policies are not. Corporations are.
A tale as old as the industrial revolution
Are these the immigrants that are stealing all our jobs?
This is what people should be fearing. Studies have shown that when immigrants come in and “take jobs”, they pay taxes, and buy goods to create a life here, effectively replacing the job they took (since we need people who make beds for them to sleep in, food for them to eat, etc).
This is automation that’s ACTUALLY taking our jobs. This automation doesn’t pay taxes, and doesn’t replace the job it takes.
I have heard an idea floated around that the companies that make these types of automation devices would pay massive taxes on them, and that tax would pay for UBI. I’m not sure how the math works, but to me that sounds like the ultimate endgame. Then we can all enjoy our lives without needing to do tedious or backbreaking work.
Very true, but let’s also keep in mind that automation doesn’t have to be a social evil. If our economic and political systems were better oriented toward lifting up society’s disadvantaged and keeping extreme individual/family wealth in check, automation could benefit all. With better social safety nets (or a UBI), government-sponsored job training (perhaps paid for by taxes on automation), and incentives for starting small businesses, automation could mean less human drudgery in the workforce, and more efficient economic outcomes for all.
I’m not optimistic about that given our track record as a species, but it’s possible.
TL;DR: automated production is good if and only if the people own the means.
Unfortunately the system has laid the framework for it to destroy itself when automation becomes ubiquitous. Imagine if y2k was inevitable but the engineers who’s jobs it was to fix it hands were tied by the software company’s forcing them to install more and more bugged software.
Why is that worth a post? I suspect there are more lawn robots here in Germany than Dads mowing the lawn. Also, you don’t want to know what those things typically do to Sonic’s babies if they are programmed to mow at night.
