This post is going to be about how robots have replaced humans in a significant segment of our industrial complex. I will say up front that I deem this as progress. Human dexterity is just not a precise thing. We are incapable of producing the accuracy of today’s workplace. We are imprecise creatures and in some way that makes us creative creatures and that is something that machines won’t soon replace.
When I bought my first new car in 1970 the saying “don’t buy a car made on a Friday or Monday” was something to take seriously. The reason for that is that the workers who made the cars were often thinking about what they were going to do that weekend or what they had done after it was over. Robots think of one thing and that is to put that screw, weld, or part within a 10,000th of an inch where it is supposed to be. They do the same thing to that accuracy over and over again without thinking of anything else.
As I said previously, human beings by our nature are meant to be creative creatures. We are meant to solve problems, create new ways of doing things, or just make life a little more pleasant for the rest of us. We were never meant to shut off our minds and do the same thing over and over again. Someday we will look back on things like the human assembly line and wonder how anyone could ever do such a boring thing!!
RJ's Corner 
Oh how I wish for a robot who can weed – talk about doing something over and over – weeding this summer is never ending. As I get older I can think of a lot of things I could use a robot for – it would make life so much easier and save my body from falling apart. I do believe that one day households will have robots, But I am too old to see that day in my lifetime – however if there is such a thing as reincarnation I might have one along with a driverless car. Just a thought.. Be happy and have a good day,
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Oh, a weeding robot, now there is an idea. But you gotta make sure it knows the difference between a weed and flower. That is the reason my wife won’t allow me near her flower gardens. Last week I drove 3136 miles in a week so I definitely could have used a driverless car. I guess we were just born a generation or two too early.
Being happy is a never-ending task in today’s world, isn’t it? Same back at ya Mary Ellen…
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I agree totally as I have in the automation industry for the last 40 years. Although I do wonder how all those people for which these routine tasks used to provide a livable wage are going to do in the future. Some people just want this type of job or this may be all they can handle. Are they all going to do low wage jobs now? I think this is a serious situation for the future.
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Hi Bob and thanks for the thoughts. A hundred years ago a person with a high school education was thought to be ready for the employment world. But now with technology advancing as rapidly as it is a education beyond high school is a minimum requirement. They say the trades are lacking qualified workers. That should be where those who have been replaced by robotics should go. Our houses will always require wiring and plumbing.
I think the secret to the future years is to make sure that young kids learn from an early age that they are capable of contributing to prosperity and a number of different fields. They don’t need to, or can’t, compete with the robots of the future for mindless jobs.
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