/sci/ - Science & Math

Dumping some singularity related graphs and images

Automation is now happening at an unprecedented pace. The graph to the left depicts the decoupling between median income and productivity - productivity has continued to skyrocket while little human workers are needed as wages stagnate.

We are not simply overcoming the limitations of our muscles. We are overcoming the limitations of our minds, and this is happening on a scale that is completely unprecedented in human history.

We're seeing that artificial intelligence systems like IBM Watson have sufficient natural language understanding to beat the world Jeopardy champions simply by reading wikipedia. This same technology is now set to eat away at medical diagnosis by being able to better diagnose a patient than a panel of board-certified doctors.

At the same time, we're seeing self driving cars fast approaching, with 6 million driving jobs in the US under threat from this technology. Robotics is also encroaching in factories and buildings, and Amazon's recent purchase of Kiva robots for warehouse automation is a great example of this.

Self checkout counters, automatic instantaneous language translation, e-commerce, legal software, 3-D printing, and artificial helpers like SIRI are quickly becoming ubiquitous.

Soon, Amazon is planning on using drones to deliver packages, and Google is now buying up the most advanced robotics companies on the planet because they too see where things are headed.

Are we entering an era where there is little need for human workers? If so, what are the social and political ramifications of a populace that does not have a means of income?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57578162/robots-are-going-to-take-your-job/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57601121/are-robots-hurting-job-growth/

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/all/

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/google-buys-boston-dynamics-acquires-robots-play/story?id=21233076