How will automation change our economy?

[Dream Theater]

Automation is the process of eliminating man-power with robots and computers in the economy. How will this transform our economy? What new jobs will become available to compensate for the losses - if any?

[Booko]

Hah...it already has, in a big way. I remember so many jobs that people used to have that are now done or partially done by computers.

The problem is, our school system is designed to put out good factory workers, and that's not what we need now.

We need people who can think for themselves...not follow orders daily in a regimented fashion. We need people who can run their own business, and schools don't teach that at all. We need people who are innovative, and schools are kinda designed to not reward people who go beyond the boundaries. We need people who are more self-motivated and can research and teach themselves with occasional assistance...not people who learn by being told what to do next.

[Ayodhya]

Booko-
I've known quite a few people who say that, but no one ever really offers any solutions to that. What kind of curriculum would you need to create an atmosphere for the type of learning required for a different job market?

How would education for things like engineers and doctors work, for example? And how would that change with automation?

[Booko]

Booko-
I've known quite a few people who say that, but no one ever really offers any solutions to that. What kind of curriculum would you need to create an atmosphere for the type of learning required for a different job market?

That's precisely the problem. Their is no "one size fits all" curriculum.

And it's not just curricula. There are any number of educational methods that do not involve making kids of the same age level sit in one room whether they are capable of moving faster or slower than their peers in that subject. Our grade schools so often discourage original thinking.

By contrast, the old "One Room Schoolhouse" method had more room for learning at different speeds, and also encouraged responsibility and caring for others when the older kids were expected to help the younger kids with their work.

How would education for things like engineers and doctors work, for example? And how would that change with automation?

Hah...don't get me started on the methods used to educate doctors. That would be a whole 'nother thread.

Certainly the subjects studied and the order in which they are studied for, say, engineers, remains roughly the same. You can't teach calculus until you have algebra down pat. That much is obvious.

Is there any reason why we have to imagine everyone learns at the same rate or using the same methods, though?

Is there something magical about being 14 that says now you *have* to learn algebra *this year*? I've seen so many kids who, if they just waited a year or two, would do fine and things would click. But no, they *have* to learn it this year, so they fail and think they are stupid when in reality their brain was just not grown enough. They might be better off spending more time that year on another subject such as English or History...but no no no we all must learn the same things at the same age! Another kid might whiz through math and get stuck in English. But if you waited on English for a year they would do fine.

People imagine that I am very smart for some odd reason :shrug:, but really the difference is the way I learn best just happens the way academia presents material. Lucky me, eh?

And then there's the other 90% of humanity. They are not unsmart...they are just not taught in the way in which they learn best.

If you want to look at some suggestions for curricula and educational methods, homeschooling is the place with the most experience to be looked at. Parents who know their children *really well* know that what works for one kid won't work for the other, and they fine tune their schedule and methods accordingly.

For example, we homeschool our daughter. She learns best by doing, though she is also quite visual. She will remember anything about history if she sees it on the stage...whether that's a documentary or whatever. She keeps track of what happened when according to the costumes worn...yup she's a performer. You hand her a standard history text and she will get nothing out of it.

Our son...hey...just hand him a regular text book and leave him alone. If he has a question he will ask. Later he'll sit down and you can have a discussion with him and it's obvious what he's picked up.

Some kids learn best through reading biographies because they are very people-oriented. When studying the foundation of the U.S. gov't, why not read a biography of Thomas Paine? :shrug:

And that is why schools are not doing as well as they could. It's not a lack of money or a lack of decent teachers...it's being tied up and only allowed to do it *one* way, and making no allowances for how your students learn. Well, that and spending so much time shoveling crap at administrators for "accountability" that will never even be read unless your principal wants you fired. ;)

[wh44]

Booko: excellent post!

Back to the original topic: the service sector has picked up a lot. Actually providing a human to talk to has become the most expensive part of most businesses, and they try to reduce that as much as possible. But people usually like real people to interact with, so the service sector is growing.

Various "online businesses" have been growing a lot, too. Some of that is very automated (e.g. Amazon), others sell specialty products in small batches and are not highly automated, and still other sell intellectual services, such as programming services, that cannot be automated (at least, not yet).

[Booko]

Back to the original topic: the service sector has picked up a lot. Actually providing a human to talk to has become the most expensive part of most businesses, and they try to reduce that as much as possible. But people usually like real people to interact with, so the service sector is growing.

Yes, if I have to phone a business, it's because I need to talk to a HUMAN...I resist the automation and just mash 0 all the time because usually it will send you to a human sooner.

Various "online businesses" have been growing a lot, too. Some of that is very automated (e.g. Amazon), others sell specialty products in small batches and are not highly automated, and still other sell intellectual services, such as programming services, that cannot be automated (at least, not yet).

Now *that's* a form of automation I really like. I love places like Amazon because their software can make intelligent suggestions about other things I might like, which I find invaluable when finding books and movies my Mom might like for a present...because her tastes and mine are so completely different and I don't keep track of what's out there that she would like. Also I love the user comments...those have helped me buy everything from an ice cream maker to a soy milk maker. That's invaluable for me...I didn't waste money buying something that wouldn't work out well.