automation « Limits to Growth

Fully Automated Package Delivery System Is Planned

Automation designers have a two-fer human job killer on the drawing boards — a combo self-driving van equipped with a separate robot that can deliver customers’ order mail-order boxes right to the door. The robot hops out of the van, grabs the package and carries it to the delivery point, even managing several stairs.

Navigating complicated […]

President Trump’s Proposal to Improve the Quality of Immigrants Meets Opposition from the Usual Quarters

President Trump has called for a fundament change in the government’s immigration system to require skills of entrants, rather than continue the current family-based system concocted by Sen Ted Kennedy in 1965.

It’s a popular proposal, according to a Rasmussen poll published May 20, titled, Voters Still See Skills-Based Legal Entry As Immigration Fix:

Voters continue to […]

Farm Robots Advance in Technology with Increased Autonomy

Bloomberg reports that farm robots are coming on strong, and that assessment makes perfect sense. The tasks of smart agricultural machines are generally simple and distinct, like weeding, plowing, spraying and picking: unlike self-driving cars, safety issues are minimal because human workers have disappeared from automated fields.

In addition, recent robots have become increasingly autonomous, meaning […]

Robot Picker Sorts Tomatoes According to Ripeness

Do you still think of picking fruits and vegetables as an occupation that requires migrant workers to do the hard work? That industry, along with many others, is being transformed by the introduction of smart machines.

The latest in pickers can now detect degrees of ripeness to suit the market — more ripe for local and […]

Ford Robot Takes On Delivery Duties in Spain

Here’s a new robot from the Ford company designed to work in its factories. It’s basically a filing cabinet on wheels that delivers replacement parts on the floor.

Below, Ford’s Survival robot consists of cubby holes for parts — each with its own identifying number on the door.

Users in the Valencia, Spain, plant report success with […]

Truck Unloader Robots Attempt to Speed Package Delivery

Here’s a new robot the tech-whizzes have built that will further automate the Amazon-fueled mail-order economy — and eliminate jobs for humans. Apparently Fed-Ex and UPS are cranking up their services to keep up with the delivery business, and they think a truck unloader will be just the ticket to speed the process along.

The Honeywell […]

Tucker Carlson Sees Coming Automation Disruption Worsened by “Lunatic” Immigration

It’s a rare thing to hear anyone in politics discuss the threat of automation to the economy — certainly no candidates did in the 2016 presidential campaign, and I watched closely. You would think that a genuine leader would have a plan to lessen the shock of massive job loss when it becomes cheaper to […]

BBC: Third World Progress Is Endangered by Artificial Intelligence and Robots

There are two great social changes occurring on the planet now that are not getting the public debate they deserve — one is automation with its associated massive job loss, and the other is population growth in the Third World.

Regarding the latter, it is routinely overlooked in the current media coverage of the thousands of […]

The Automated Farm Is Getting Closer

The recent New Yorker Magazine has a thorough story about automated agriculture, with strawberry picking getting particular attention. The magazine does like its articles long and rambling, so the reader learns about assorted agro-facts like grower complaints about the H-2A visa, the manual skills required to pick delicate strawberries (“a wristy twist that prevents bruising […]

“Our Immigration System Is a Joke,” Says Tucker Carlson

So much of TV commentary concerns news-of-the-day trivia that it’s nice occasionally to have reflections on the Big Picture. Tucker Carlson did just that during his opening monologue on Thursday about the ways that immigration anarchy is changing America’s future — and not for the better.

In particular, extreme population growth fueled by foreigners (what’s happening […]

The Automated Life of the Future Is Considered

Below is an excerpt from a new book, The Culture of AI, Everyday Life and the Digital Revolution. Unlike most books now available about the coming technological transformation, it is written by a sociologist rather than a Silicon Valley type. So it may address the cultural effects that arise from automation and smart machines taking […]

Port of Los Angeles: Drivers Resist Automated Trucks

It’s rare to see workers fight back against automation taking their jobs, but it’s useful for them to have a union that actually helps its clients. That’s what has been going on in the LA docks, where automation has been a source of contention for several years.

Unfortunately for the workers, the containerized shipping industry lends […]

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Limits to Growth