jobs « Limits to Growth

Amazon’s Robot-Run Supermarket Will Need Only Three Workers

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos certainly is the busy little billionaire, as shown by his latest project of an automated supermarket, where technology replaces human workers to save lots of money for the third-richest man in the world.

Does Bezos not understand that destroying jobs is a long-term loser for Amazon’s customer base? When workers are no longer […]

Automation King Jeff Bezos Objects to President Trump’s Immigration Restriction

These billionaires can never get enough immigrants — they work cheap and shop enthusiastically. You might think the third richest man in the world might have better things to do than overwhelm America with overpopulation and unfriendly diversity. In particular, the man who arguably spearheaded the drive to automate jobs and put Americans out of […]

Robot Barista Debuts in San Francisco

The automation juggernaut continues to crush jobs throughout the economy. Today’s example is the robot barista which prepares upscale caffeinated beverages without human workers.

In San Francisco, Cafe X’s robot coffee machine produces cappuccinos and lattes for sleepy iPhone users and others.

Interestingly, barista is a storied occupation for young people, and not always in a good […]

Tech Billionaires Prep for Automation Apocalypse

The story about ultra-wealthy Silicon Valley types buying land where they can hunker down raises immediate questions — what the heck do the tech rich have to fear anyway? They are on top of the world with wealth and influence, plus they can afford to buy a house in Palo Alto.

As it happens, the tech elites […]

A Television First — the Connection between Automation and Immigration Is Discussed!

Tucker Carlson interviewed New York Times columnist Tom Friedman a few days ago about his new book, “Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.” The discussion was about technology, which is the cause of the accelerations from the book title.

Carlson has a new prime-time show on Fox […]

Trump Election Prompts Surge of Robot Purchases

Elections have consequences, so they say. The Associated Press reports that farmers in California fear that Trump’s promise of mass deportations means they won’t have enough cheapie Mexicans to pick the crops and are therefore investing in agricultural automation.

Actually, the narrative makes for a swell liberal sob story, but labor-saving farm technology has been improving […]

Automation’s Future in Idaho Is Considered

In Idaho, a researcher at the state Department of Labor looked into automation and how it may play out locally. His overall estimate is based on that of the Oxford analysts, that nearly half of state jobs are susceptible within a couple decades.

But there’s no mention that workers are shoppers and are the engine of […]

Automation: How It’s Changing the Oil Patch

The report below from the Houston Chronicle about smart machines in the petroleum industry is helpful because it is fairly precise about how many jobs are being lost. As in many businesses, a complete wipeout of jobs is not what’s happening, but the increased efficiency of advanced machines does remove a significant chunk of human […]

The Social Contract Spotlights Automation and Immigration

A few months ago, I worked with The Social Contract quarterly to produce an issue with a section discussing the topic of how automation affects America’s need for immigration. The result was the Fall 2016 issue, subtitled “When Robots Replace Humans.”

After writing dozens of blogs for LimitsToGrowth.org about rapidly advancing automation, robots and computer software, my […]

Tucker Carlson Examines a Future with Self-Driving Cars

Last week Fox TV host Tucker Carlson interviewed robotics expert and Columbia professor Hod Lipson, author of Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead to discuss the future of transportation and jobs. The professor is obviously a well educated guy and an expert in his field, but he apparently doesn’t get how the entire basis […]

Automation Makes Youth Employment More Difficult

Young people are particularly hard hit by the increased automation of business, since they need a first job to learn the basic skills of showing up on time, taking directions and pleasing the boss. Increasingly those basic first jobs — like waiter or pizza delivery driver — are being done by machines.

One indicator is a […]

American Youth Face Dismal Economic Future

Friday’s Wall Street Journal front page had an ugly picture of what young people face in today’s downsized US economy: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds Earn More Than Their Parents.

The human costs are now adding up for economic globalization, specifically decades of outsourcing entire industries and massive immigration. In addition, automation is coming on strong to take even […]

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