Automated armageddon
Ian Harrison worries about the march of the robots
Mrs May dropped a clanger for sure but just for once we saw a politician telling the truth and, Bboy did she suffer for it! Ten million pensioners in this country and she told them that she was going to take their houses to pay for care and then compounded the felony by saying that she was going to reduce their pensions and take away the winter fuel allowance.
It is no surprise then that Corbin got close to victory by promising to get rid of tuition fees and zero hours contracts, both of which ideas attracted the young vote. Again the first past the post system was exposed as a total con when it was revealed that Corbin was short of winning by just 12,000 votes. Proportional representation would be fairer but politics is never fair. Like a sheep you are expected to vote knowing that your vote counts for nought in the current system.
Tracey Crouch has been put in charge over the fate of FOBT stakes again but she has been seduced by the bookies, I’m afraid. She has expressed concern over the projected closure of 4,000 betting offices and the number of jobs that will be lost if the maximum stake is reduced to £2. Oh dear, doesn’t she also consider the fate of thousands of families who have a FOBT addict losing hundreds and thousands every week?
The new government is being propped up by the DUP, Ian Paisley’s party and if they had their way they would ban gambling altogether so we are relying on them to breathe some common sense into the discussion but a fast decision is desperately needed. On one side you have the desperation of the addict and on the other you have the greed of the bookies.
The accountants association has already capitulated and admitted that their profession will be dominated by robots by 2020.It makes sense; any profession dominated by numbers would be better served by a robot and I suspect they will be able to programme them to cook the books far more efficiently than any human.
The motor industry succumbed long ago and now they have a hamburger robot that can cook it, put it in a bun with a slice of cheese and box it, producing hundreds every hour. There are no wages to pay with a robot.We are all going to be out of work in 50 years or so. Has nobody thought this out?’ Greed at work again.
How about jockeys? I have seen a film of robots riding camels and it would make sense and save a lot of money. No whips, just the occasional electric shock though the saddle as encouragement. They would be fitted with proximity sensors and an electric shock to left or right would do the job. Fraud would be obvious as a robot could be pre-programmed to give a massive shock at the furlong marker so the robots would need to be weighed in by another robot which would test for overloaded electric shocks.
You might laugh but it is quite possible when owners work out how much money they would save. The job of trainer would be safe but he would then have to deal with a robotic handicapper who would never ever make a mistake.The only country to consider this looming problem is Finland where they are proposing a universal living wage.
If you are getting less than a living wage you get a top up and if a robot has taken your job you get the whole lot. What to do with your spare time would be a problem but you can always go to the races and cheer your robot on….. ’Come on Piggott II.’
Goldcrest has had a gloomy June which was not helped with a bet on PERMIAN in the Derby. This was a serious error on my part because the figures didn’t add up but Mark Johnson was so bullish about this horse and he is usually reliable in his comments. Permian at 1m2f is well worth following. The totals for the last 30 days are:13 bets,5 won,4 points,30% ROI, as of June 15. The old school report, ‘can do better’ springs to mind.
Ian Harrison has managed Goldcrest since 1985.Thirty two winning years. His booklet ‘Advice to Backers’ is available free on line, £10 by snailmail.