Page 8 - RJ Pioneer - Winter

Robots in River John ?
Seismic shifts in technology have occurred through-
out human history. Consider the loom, the printing
press, the three-point hitch, the steam engine, the
telephone, the airplane and the computer. Each was a
“disruptive” technology, meaning that once they were
introduced, the previous way of doing things rapidly
disappeared. The pace at which old ways vanish has
increased.
Alexander Graham Bell first patented the telephone
in 1876. The first transatlantic phone call was made in
1915 (almost 40 years later). There are now more cell
phones in the world than people.
The Wright brothers’ first sustained flight was in
1903. The first commercial jet, BOAC’s Comet, was
introduced in 1952 (50 years later). There are now
over 100,000 flights per day.
We’ve come a long way from the first version of
Windows in 1985 (see graphic above). What about
robotics and automation? You could make the case
that it has the slowest pace of evolution; Leonardo
da Vinci designed the first humanoid robot in 1495;
however, the first industrial robot, Ultimate, was
built by George Devol in 1961 (55 years ago). There
Our research shows over 90%
of BUYERS start their home buying search
on the WORLD WIDE WEB.
VISIT US 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK AT
www.sunrisebrokerage.ca
LOCALLY owned with GLOBAL reach. www.worldproperties.com
Our REALTORS® can show you any property on
Cathy Covey, Donna Fitzgerald,
Broker/Owner REALTOR®
Serving Nova Scotia
Serving Nova Scotia
Call or text
Call or text
902-897-5154
902-956-3301
dfitzgerald @sunrisebrokerage.ca
ccovey@sunrisebrokerage.ca
Sunrise Sells residential, commercial, land, cottages &
multi-unit properties throughout Northern Nova Scotia.
• Professional members of NSAR
(Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS®)
• Experienced REALTORS® who know
the real estate market in our areas.
• Confidentiality. We protect your interests.
• Good listeners. We are here to address
your real estate concerns.
Give us a call for all of your real estate needs, we are here to help!
are many industries that have employed robots or
automated systems; car manufacturing was one of
the early adopters, as was the IT sector. But robot-
ics largely filled the need for specific tasks - usually
arduous, tedious or dangerous activities (e.g., bomb
disposal).
It appears we are reaching a threshold brought
about by advances in computing power, geographical
information systems (GIS) and connectivity. Driver-
less cars are now being test driven, not in River John,
but in major urban centres around North America.
Recently we have the seen the introduction of drones,
which major shipping and distribution companies are
preparing to use on a massive scale. As robots become
increasingly dexterous, factories and warehouses are
becoming increasingly automated.
I remember in high school, back in 1974, going for
a tour of a Humpty Dumpty factory in Montreal. The
factory produced Cheesies. It was a 5,000 sq. ft. fac-
tory and the only manual job in it was for the men and
women who opened the plastic bag so the machine
could pour in the cheesies and seal it. Now I’m sure
there are no longer people in that factory.
Photo: Brandon Bailey. One of 15,000 robots at
Amazon’s warehouses. Can move 750 lb shelving units.
www.realtor.ca
Kathy Kenrick, Shelley Goldie,
REALTOR® REALTOR®
Serving Tatamagouche & Area
Serving Colchester &
Call or text
Cumberland Counties
902-899-5018
Call or text 902-897-3721
kkenrick @sunrisebrokerage.ca
sgoldie@sunrisebrokerage.ca
• Knowledgeable. We have answers to
your real estate questions.
• Local knowledge. We know local events and
attractions, schools, shopping and can refer
you to home inspectors, tradespeople, etc.
• Connections through agent to agent
referrals WORLDWIDE.
And that may highlight the difference between
the robotics revolution and all those earth-shaking
changes before it. Past revolutions, whether agricul-
tural, industrial, or technological have displaced large
numbers of workers, but they have always created
other jobs. The challenge for society was adapting to
the change. The robotics revolution is already displac-
ing jobs. If they can make a driverless car, they can
make a driverless truck. There are over 80,000 truck
drivers in Canada. How long will it take for those jobs
to be lost? 20 years? 10 years? Remember Block-
buster Video?
It opened in 1985. It had over 8,000 outlets in the
year 2000 when it had the opportunity to purchase
Netflix, which was a fledgling company at the time.
Apparently, change happens more quickly in technol-
ogy. In 2011, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy. Netf-
lix’s revenue last year was $7 billion. Streaming video
replaced DVD rentals in approximately 10 years.
What jobs will the robotics revolution produce?
Some say it will produce high-tech jobs maintaining
the robots. It had better. It’s not just 80,000 truckers
who will be looking for work. Think of a job. Now
think of a durable, flexible, dexterous robot with an
ultra-fast processor and unlimited storage capac-
ity. Give it visual and auditory capabilities, heat and
movement sensors, a GPS system. Link it to any
one of thousands of online databases. Incorporate
decision-making software and learning algorithms.
Those are all currently available. If you owned a fleet
of trucks, would you buy one for $50,000? That is the
average salary of a truck driver. They would drive 24
hours a day, no days off. They would reduce accidents
and cut insurance costs. By the end of the first year,
you would probably replace all your drivers. That’s
happening now. The first automated truck conference
took place in Texas in 2015 and every car and truck
manufacturer was there.
That will happen wherever there are employees.
Think of the most complex jobs, requiring the most
sophisticated training. Does anyone believe that the
entire knowledge required to excel in that occupation
cannot be loaded into a single computer chip? You
might argue that humans have the experience to ex-
ercise good judgement in moral affairs. Others might
counter and point out the number of race-related
shootings of unarmed African-Americans by police in
the United States.
Regardless of whether you like the idea or not, the
rise of the robots will not start with the formation of
a robot army, it will begin with longer and longer
unemployment lines.
The big adjustment for the future will not be what
line of work to go into; it may be what to do with your
free time. Children today might be wise to start lobby-
ing for a guaranteed annual income.
-- Rob Assels