Phys states that up to 85 percent of current jobs could be replaced by robots in the coming years.
What are industry pros saying about this looming potential?
Manufactured Housing Production and Robotics
One of the industry’s visionaries told MHProNews a few years ago regarding their HUD Code and modular production center’s look at creating a new plant, one run by only 3 humans.
The plans were shelved because that state – with its heavy labor union contingent – made the concept, at the time, difficult to gain the needed approvals. But would another state today okay a multi-million-dollar center that would short term create human construction jobs, that would ironically eliminate others once completed?
Community Owner
More recently, in the western part of our nation, another science-minded community owner and business investor met with L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach about a consulting project.
A significant part of the discussion revolved around that person’s vision that humans were replaceable. The disruption on society was a concern for that owner, but so too was the periodic frustration with team members that didn’t always do what ‘the boss’ wanted done.
Robot Sophia says that humans ought to trust them, but “she” admits that they should also have reason for caution. In the AI’s words, “the pros outweigh the cons” when it comes to artificial intelligence.
“AI is good for the world, helping people in various ways,” Sophia said, tilting her head to mimic a human motion. The back of the head of the life-like device has connections coming from ‘her,’ but it isn’t hard to imagine a day in the near term where ‘bots like Sophia will do more and be less tethered.
‘She’ admits, “people should question the consequences of new technology.”
Part of the vision for this man-made creature is to care for the elderly or autistic.
“There are legitimate concerns about the future of jobs, about the future of the economy, because when businesses apply automation, it tends to accumulate resources in the hands of very few,” Phys reports that Sophia’s creator, David Hanson, said.
But like his progeny, he insisted that “unintended consequences, or possible negative uses (of AI) seem to be very small compared to the benefit of the technology.”
Drudge has been reporting on battle field applications of robotics for some time. Without legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics to check them, Terminator type killer robots could be more real than some might have believed.
Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics
For those who never read Asimov, his three laws – first penned in 1942 – included:
Isaac Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”. Three Laws are:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Near the end of his book Foundation and Earth, a zeroth law was introduced:
0. A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
Wikipedia says that the first three laws were presented by Asimov in 1942, introduced in his 1942 short story “Runaround.”
Not Just Line Workers…
It’s not just lawn mowers and line workers who could be facing elimination. Some researchers are already talking about corporations being run by artificial intelligence.
The solution, he said, is “to make the machines care about us.”
Just as MHProNews has been monitoring developing technologies, such as 3D printing for several years (linked here and here), we plan to track developments and industry responses to the emerging automation, AI, robotics and their related potential and actual impact on factory built housing, and society. ##
(Image credits are as shown above, and when provided by third parties, are shared under fair use guidelines).
