Thursday, October 13, 2016

Stopping the Robot Takeover

I always find it amusing when people complain about the robots taking over and doing the jobs that people used to do.  Somehow, people believe that robots will completely replace people and we’ll all head to some weird dystopia where robots take care of everything.

The reason that robots and other related technologies (like automated kiosks at fast food restaurants) are gaining some traction is because the job market is over-regulated to the point that such technologies are cheaper than paying actual people.  If all McDonalds needs is one person to make sure the machines don’t get jammed up, then yes, they’re going to pay that guy and fire the rest.

The only to prevent technological advances from completely taking away “our” jobs is to eliminate nearly all labor regulations, such as minimum wage standards, and let the market decide what is best.

Automated kiosks are great but they come with a cost.  And if the cost of installing and maintaining them is more than the cost of just hiring a teenager to take an order, then they won’t replace people.

Same with robots.  If the cost of building, buying, and maintaining a robot that performs basic landscaping tasks outweighs the cost of hiring a Mexican invader, then rich people will just hire an illegal alien, who will probably shit on their lawn.

This is common sense really.  Sure there will be exceptions (there always are) but at the same time, you’ll see most employers doing what is best for making profits.

That’s really what it comes down to.  The best way to stop the robot takeover is to eliminate the welfare state and deregulate all industries.

Yes, people will have to get jobs that pay less but at the same time, the price of everything else will go down because if everyone is making less money, then nobody is buying stuff.

And most companies like it when you buy their stuff.