New Wave of Deft Robots Is Changing Global Industry: Are Robots Replacing Skilled Workers?

Yep, these people think themselves sick. Because they're worthless. I never get sick, because I don't think myself into sickness.

That's unfair. People like us just have strong immune systems and are lucky.

It's not unfair, it's true. Your mind has power over your health, so if you're unhealthy, your mind is unhealthy.

It's certainly an interesting opinion, and being pessimistic and depressed will lower your immune system, but they won't cause arthritis or lung disease or any other illness that is not caused by microbes.

Are you suggesting that when a machine crashes that they will bring in robots to repair the damage and pick up the pieces? Are you suggesting that robots will maintain themselves and program themselves? Are you suggesing that man will become obsolete? There will always be room for man to make a good living. Robots are NOT going to rule the world, nor will the displace humans and make us unnecessary. There will ALWAYS be countless jobs out there, even to maintain the robot corp. You are talking silly!

What the hell are you talking about?! I've just said twice that humans would fix them because of our ingenuity and problem solving.

So you answered the question that robots CANNOT replace humans. We will always be necessary! Jobs will never be lost to robots. Our job market simply changes, just like it did when cars replaced the horse and buggy!

Robots will replace humans in jobs where you follow instruction, like on the assembly line. Other jobs will be done by humans as they are able to think for themselves.

So it is a transfer to different fields, not a replacement!

They will REPLACE humans in instruction based work. The humans will be replaced and will have to find jobs elsewhere.

Which will be plentiful if we can turn the economy around and not go bankrupt as a nation!

Which would involve cutting waste and inefficiency, making the government live on a budget, and restructuring taxes.

I'm all for that! That's why I am NOT voting for Obama and Senator Bob Casey, Obama's stooge!

"Skilled..." that's funny.

In jobs that require precise repetitive motion. More open-ended and create jobs are safe, for now.

Not offence meant to anyone here, but how is attaching one or two small parts to a product on an assembly line considered "skilled" labor?

The thing is, this isn't really a bad thing, just as fact of life. Automated assembly takes away human jobs, but it also greatly increases the quality control of manufactured goods. Human manufacturing will still be needed for a number of other products, but robots can and will be the solution for a great number of products that we use. Instead of viewing this as a negative, look at the positives: Sweatshops (aka slave labor) will be almost eliminated by this. Assembly lines can operate around the clock. Robots will not strike, get sick, show up hung over, or fail a drug test.

This is not the end of the human worker, not by a long shot, but the age of unskilled assembly line work is going away.

Besides, someone is still going to need a job repairing and maintaining the robots.

It is my a sustainable model. If nobody is getting a paycheck, who's going to buy the products and thus pay for the robots?

There are still plenty of ways to earn a paycheck. This is one segment of employment that has been dying for some time now.

Well, what do you want to do then, stop progress to save some jobs. I'm sorry, but as society and technology evolve, so must we.

They are in some places. That is a good thing.

Yes. In theory the introduction and conversion to automated processing eliminates traditional jobs but creates additional jobs with frequently greater skill requirements. At issue is most companies do not want to develop their employee skills and outsource the new required skill set. Sooooo yes jobs are eliminated.

Bingo! Jobs are still there, and good ones at that. It's a matter of getting trained in new ways of doing things.

That's the idea. Watch out for "The Matrix".

yes, it is right but it is very harmful. Because human beings made robotes, not robots made human beings. Robots are important but not as workers

It's a fact. Why do you think people keep losing their jobs?

It has been happening for centuries. Ask a hand loom weaver of two centuries ago if a steam loom replaced him. Ask a transcriptionist it photocopier replaced him. Of if the fellow who shoveled coal or wood into the firebox of a locamotive if a diesel locamotive replced him.

More importantly, ask the consumer of cloth, or copies or rail transportation if preservation of a few jobs is more important than low cost efficient good and services.

A skilled weaver with a hand loom might produce table cloth in a week and charge accordingly; whereas a steam loom could produce the peice in a matter of minutes and the propritor could profitable sell it for a small fraction of the price, and therefore sell many more to consumers who could never have bought one of the handmade ones.

Great point. Also consider this:

Cars today are built to tighter tolerances, last longer, and are safer. The fact that robots are doing the actual welding is a big factor in this.

That's the point in technology... to free us from labor. You don't walk everywhere do you? No, you have a vehicle.

However, we must understand that our economic system is not compatible with this course of events. As is, everyone must have a job in order to live, to buy food, a home, car, etc.. But what if you didn't need a job at all? We will reach that time where technology replaces most jobs. Will we suffer and die out in mass starvation before we adapt? Perhaps we're not evolved enough intellectually to handle this new world emerging... It is scary... that we might not adapt fast enough to know how to thrive in a world like this.

Or, instead of advocating the murder of unskilled workers like you are, get educated or trained in a real career skill that can't be outsourced or taken from you by unskilled labor.

i dont advocate murder but if some one kills an illegal immigrant then its one less problem for America , they are illegal and as so if they are killed it is better than sending them back to have another try

Robots can't do my job and neither can China

the rises of the machines are upon us

Good lord I hope so. Has anyone tried to hire these kids these days. Think of the money we save and how much better the product comes out. We can hire them part time to flip the switch to turn the robot on and off.

i know there aint many of us that have a job attitude like mine cause i am on time , my phone is off and i am not there to chit chat with fellow employees unless work related and i took five ten minute lunch breaks instead of the full half hour i was a damn hard working and product employee and i got fired from wall mart for chewing out two guys who were throwing stuffed animals at each other and almost hit a customer in a wheel chair who was trying to get there attention instead of stocking them it pissed me off they got a warning and i was let go

have been since the 50's...took over many automotive manufacture jobs in my state in the late 70's

Robots don't call in sick with a hangover on Monday mornings.

An old mechanic told me once, "Never buy a car that was built on Monday or Friday. On Friday, all they're thinking about is getting off work and drinking. On Monday, they're hung over."