Alarcon 1

Jesse Alarcon
English 1A
11/30/15
The Work of Robots
The daily activities performed by individuals often times includes interacting with an
electronic device in one way or another. Technology surrounds cities and homes making it
normal to see electronics performing simple tasks. The world of technology is advancing at an
alarming rate, and simple tasks won't be the only thing that electronics perform . With robotics,
there is the potential, and to some a threat, of entire work fields being automated by robots .
The robot has come a long way since it's conception. A century ago, the word was
coined by a Czech playwright Karel Capek, literally meaning tedious labor, (Partridge,
Kenneth. Robotics. New York: H.W. Wilson Co, 2010. Print.). Robots and automations have
been built since the early centuries but it's use in assembly lines first took place in 1961, when
General Motors used the world's first assembly line robot . This machine picked up hot car parts
and dropped them into vats of cooling liquid, (Partridge, Kenneth. Robotics. New York: H.W.
Wilson Co, 2010. Print.). This was ground breaking achievement that this machine could a
better job than humans without getting tired, injured, or stopping after it's work shift . This
greatly boosted production from the companies and the advancement of robotics was a clear
future for the advancement of production.
Even before the 21st century there had been worries of automation taking over the work
force. In the 1920's and 30's automatic machine began to become more apparent . John
Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath comes to mind, when thousands of families in the Midwest lost

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their jobs to giant farm tractors that could do the work of ten families . Many retail jobs were
also lost to simple robots such as jukeboxes and vending machines . Both manufacturers and
operators quickly became intoxicated by vending machines seemingly boundless potential to
make money in settings where none could be made before, and enterprising inventors soon
attached a coin chute to virtually any device that seemed to promise quick returns,
(Rasmussen, Chris. Jobs Galore For Robots. Rethinking History 5.1 (2001): 149-162.
America: History and Life with Full Text . Web. 2 Nov. 2015.). This realization that robots
could do a better job at menial tasks than humans, coupled with the stock market crash that led
to the Great Depression, only furthered the fear of robotics in the workforce from workers .
While thousands of jobs were lost in the early thirties to vending machines, a new type
of machines were created that offered a new work field to explore. Jukeboxes were created and
allowed the user to take control of what they wanted to hear, allowing a machine for the first
time give the owner control to use for entertainment. Pinball machines were also invented
around this time and it received great reception, some even went ad far as to cal it an antidepression machine. by staking an even more sweeping claim that automation could
provide consumers not merely satisfaction, but control, over the market for entertainment . Coin
men, formerly enthusiastic proponents of futuristic robots, now resorted to populist rhetoric,
saluting coin machines as the friend, not the foe, of the people, (Rasmussen, Chris. Jobs
Galore For Robots. Rethinking History 5.1 (2001): 149-162. America: History and Life with
Full Text. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.). The introduction to coin machines was able to allow

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automations a place among society.

In the 21st century machines using a machine is an everyday occurrence and there is no
question about its place in society, but as technology advances so does its presence . In San
Francisco, California, there is a fast food restaurant run entirely by robots . Food is ordered
from tablets and cooked on the grill by a robots that flips and prepares burgers . The customer
then picks up their food when its ready in a cubbyhole. (Marshall, Patrick. Robotics and the
Economy. CQ Researcher 25 Sept. 2015: 793-816. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.). This entire process is
done without interacting with a human at all. For employers, this solution to hire robots is
incredibly efficient. The robot does not get tired or take breaks, it just continues working until
there are no more customers. If a majority of food chains followed this practice would be a
decrease in the amount of jobs available in the food industry and possibly an influx of
unemployment.
There are two sides to the argument of robots taking up a number of jobs in the
workforce but a majority of expert opinions side with robotics . John Tamny, editor of
RealClearMarkets.com writes, The fears of economists, politicians and workers themselves are
way overdone.Robots will ultimately be the biggest job creators simply because aggressive
automation will free up capital for investment. The profit-enhancing efficiencies that robots
personify (even to their most ardent critics) foretell a massive surge of investment that will gift
us with all sorts of new companies and technological advances that promise the invention of
new kinds of work previously unimagined, (Marshall, Patrick . Robotics and the Economy.

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CQ Researcher 25 Sept. 2015: 793-816. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.) Since robots will always be more
efficient than workers, this realization also gives hope to the state of production in the United
States. Currently foreign countries are able to pay their workers less for production, making it
cheaper for companies to buy overseas. With robots effectively removing labor costs this could
bring back production for the United States.
History is able to show patterns in how new technology may affect society today . In the
early 1900's machines put thousands out of business and aided the great depression but in the
1800's there was a similar case as well. The group known as the Luddites swore to destroy
machines that reduced labor and threatened the economy. Because of the fear of jobloss,
progress was halted. In (Lehman, Tom. Countering The Modern Luddite Impulse.
Independent Review 20.2 (2015): 265. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.) it mocks this
idea and states At any rate, it seems plausible to conclude that, on balance, these types of jobs
would be the last to be uprooted by technological advances . If and when they are made
obsolete, the meaningfulness inherent in the job would be a thin reed on which to rest an
objection against automation. By that logic, we would have forcefully halted the advance of the
internal combustion engine one hundred years ago with the goal of keeping blacksmiths and
wagon makers employed in what, to many of them, was surely a meaningful occupation .
Because of the car there is an entire new industry of motor vehicles which provided thousands
of new jobs due to it being much more complex than the wagon . By learning from the past it is
easy to see that robotics and the advancement is only a good solution .

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In order for robots to take its place in the work force, the entire system must be
reworked. James Hughes, executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging
Technologies, says 'If we begin to slowly displace workers and then more rapidly displace
workers because of a variety of technologies not just automation but also 3-D printing, for
example we need to have an affordable economic [model] for how people are going to
equitably share in the benefits of that automation process and the downsides of it .' Among the
solutions Hughes and others suggest are retraining programs, shortening the workweek and
work year and providing more paid vacations. 'Then we need to rethink the relationship
between work, income, pensions, retirement and Social Security, One of the things that we have
been promoting is the idea of an income guarantee to gather all the various forms of
redistribution into one basic redistribution check that everyone would get, and that this would
have a kind of catalytic effect on unlocking people's creativity . (Marshall, Patrick. Robotics
and the Economy. CQ Researcher 25 Sept. 2015: 793-816. Web. 2 Nov.

2015.) To rework

the entire system sounds bit extreme, almost unrealistic. The benefits to using robots in the
workforce are clear, but the solution to the amount of workers left unemployed are not .
Learning from how other countries handle technology in the workforce is great for
learning how robotics affects them. In the small country of New Zealand automation is more
than welcomed. The country is mostly consisted of laborious and sometimes dangerous jobs .
Chris Hopkins, chief executive of his firm that specializes in robotics, says, Just like 15-20
years ago they said we would have paperless offices, and now we've got more paper than we

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ever had. Robots will be an evolution rather than a revolution and like a dishwasher or a
cellphone, people will eventually adopt them without blinking . No one ever complains or
thinks it's going to take over our jobs when we send in a robot in to disarm a bomb or something
like that. (Roll on robots: automation's here. Dominion Post, The 29 Dec. 2014: B5.
Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.) Similar to how in the 1920's and the 1930's when
machines took away jobs, new fields and jobs will be born as technology advances .
A more practical solution than just ignoring the problem would be focusing on
education. A robot can only get so smart and be able to interpret only as much as it it
interpreted to do so. For young jobseekers, the best help comes from a solid educational base,
with a strong focus on foundational skill sets such as numeracy and literacy that empower them
with the basic skills needed to learn new ones. In our fast-changing work environment,
mushrooming demand for new specific occupational and trade skills are the rule, and the ability
to quickly adjust someone's skills is paramount for a successful professional career . In this
respect, numeracy and literacy skills are the baseline foundation of skill learning abilities; able
to effectively improve the employability...(Automation fears should be sent to the
scrapheap. Canberra Times 21 Sept. 2015: 5. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.).
By improving fundamental skills, young workers will be able to adapt to different types of work
that may be coming within the next twenty years as robotics take over the current workforce .
Robots and automated machines are changing the work force in the world today .
Improvements to technology are growing by the day automation is taking up more tedious tasks

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than ever before. The changes do pose a threat to jobs but have great potential of creating even
more. As technology advances in the workplace, workers must grow with it .

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Works Cited
Automation fears should be sent to the scrapheap. Canberra Times 21 Sept. 2015: 5.
Newspaper

Source Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Crichton, Danny. Fear Not The Robot. National Review 67.8 (2015): 34. MAS Ultra - School
Edition. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Ford, Martin. Viewpoint: Could Artificial Intelligence Create An Unemployment Crisis? .
Communications Of The ACM 56.7 (2013): 37-39. Business Source Elite. Web. 2 Nov.
2015.
Lehman, Tom. Countering The Modern Luddite Impulse. Independent Review 20.2 (2015):
265.

MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Marshall, Patrick. Robotics and the Economy. CQ Researcher 25 Sept. 2015: 793-816. Web.
2 Nov.

2015.

Partridge, Kenneth. Robotics. New York: H.W. Wilson Co, 2010. Print.
Rasmussen, Chris. Jobs Galore For Robots. Rethinking History 5.1 (2001): 149-162.
America:

History and Life with Full Text. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Roll on robots: automation's here. Dominion Post, The 29 Dec. 2014: B5. Newspaper Source
Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.