There’s only one outcome in humans vs robots
UNTIL recently, the pace of change in the world was fast, but understandable.
Cars became smarter year after year, homes added new appliances every year, but they were still the same old cars and homes our parents knew.
The tumble dryer replaced the mangle, but it still did the same job of wringing excess water out of the washing. The microwave oven cooked faster, but it still cooked. TV screens got bigger and flatter, but they still showed movies.
Now things are changing at a bewildering speed and I sometimes wonder how I can keep up.
I am told individual ownership of cars will soon be a thing of the past. If we want to go somewhere we’ll dial up a car, get in and tell it where to go. At the end of the journey we’ll get out and say goodbye and the car will trundle off to find its next passenger. What is the point of owning a car? This is almost happening already in many cities with the Car2Go system, except you still have to drive the vehicle.
Shopping online is getting more and more accepted. I saw this in Canada. You look at the “shops” on your iPad, dial up a bedside lamp or a case of beers or a teddy bear, punch in your card number and the goods arrives on your doorstep the next day.
Will this mean the end of supermarkets altogether? Today 3D printing is no longer a novelty. Apparently they’ve already printed an entire six-storey block of flats in China. Who needs carpenters and plasterers when you can print a building?
With the development of battery and solar power technology we will soon have cheap and plentiful electricity around the world. There will be enough electric power to run efficient desalination plants turning sea water into potable water for our daily consumption.
Cars will run silently on electricity, without drivers. What interests me is what will happen to the millions of people who will, inevitably, lose their jobs.
With self driven vehicles there will be no need for taxi drivers. Or for traffic cops for that matter.
As we turn more and more to online shopping there will be less need for supermarket staff. Already you can check out your groceries at an automatic till in other countries. Run them past a scanner, pop in your bank card and walk away.
I’ve done it. The same goes for petrol attendants (while we still have petrol powered cars). You fill up, stick your card into a slot on the pump and drive away. Even parking attendants will be redundant when cars park themselves and drive back to their depots. Maybe our car parks will be turned into vegetable gardens, tended by robots. Who knows?
One thing is certain. The next generation will look back and simply not believe the primitive world we live in today. I wonder if it’s possible to develop an electronic politician.
Last Laugh
After a serious accident a man was recovering in hospital, with hands swathed in bandages.
When the doctor came to examine him he held up his bandaged hands and asked: “Do you think I’ll be able to play the piano when the bandages come off ?” “Yes, you will,” said the doctor. “That’s so exciting! I always wanted to be able to play the piano.”