Recently, there has been a mini revolt against self checkout stands at supermarkets. The rallying cry is people could be filling the positions and besides, why should the customer do the work of checking out and bagging groceries. Of course, the answer for supermarkets is to hire fewer clerks and force time constrained consumers to either use the automated stands or go to a different store.
Now, comes the next step in automation; A driverless vans delivering packages on dedicated routes between distribution centers. It sounds innocuous, but the B to B delivery accounts for a large number of middle class trucking jobs in the US today. The driverless trucks are now being tested on routes of up to 1000 miles and so far are outperforming standard trucks with drivers. At least one major truck manufacturer is due to roll out a fully driverless model within 2 years.
When deployed, these inter warehouse delivery trucks will be 95% independent. As many as 10 trucks will be overseen by remote human supervisors who will be able to intervene in case the robo vans run into an unprogrammed scenario. It is estimated that by 2025 as many as half of all trucking positions will be eliminated as robot trucks work around the clock, cutting freight costs by up to 50%.
What I want to know is who will be able to afford to buy these goods when many of us will be out of work due to automation?
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