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As the robot revolution takes away more and more working-class jobs, could it lead to political unrest and riots?
The ongoing robot revolution will kill many jobs forever. In fact, some experts are afraid robots, autonomous machines, and artificial intelligence will kill all jobs.
For example, Futurism writer Dan Robitzski fears an “economic robot revolution” in which automation [1] kills all jobs. This would leave most people without a way to make money.
Meanwhile, Electronic Engineering Journal Editor Kevin Morris warns us to “fear the economic singularity [2].” In essence, the “economic singularity” is the point at which machines control the economy.
Specifically, Morris predicts a future in which people will have one role in the economy: customers. However, Morris does not know where future customers will get money from.
The Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs
Unfortunately, the robot revolution, or technological unemployment, is happening now. In fact, robots are already killing jobs at Walmart.
For example, Walmart plans to deploy robot janitors [3] at 1,500 of its stores, Futurism claims. In addition, Walmart will use robot stock clerks at 300 stores.
Notably, the robots are already telling Walmart employees what to do. To explain, the floor-scrubbing robot [4] sends messages about messes it cannot handle to human employees, Futurism reports.
Additionally, Walmart is exploring the possibility of using Flippy the robot fry cook in its delis. To clarify, Flippy is a robot that cooks hamburgers, tater tots, and other fried foods. Notably, Flippy [5] is already working at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and at the Caliburger [6] fast-food joint in Pasadena.
Will The Robot Revolution Kill Jobs?
Significantly, Walmart is the largest private employer in 21 states, The Visual Capitalist estimates [7]. In fact, Walmart employs 1% of America’s private sector workforce. Nevertheless, Futurism theorizes that “Walmart sees human employees and their salaries as circumventable expenses.”
Nor is Walmart alone in killing jobs with robots. For instance, America’s largest supermarket operator, Kroger, is building robot fulfillment centers [8] in Ohio and Florida [9]. To explain, swarms of robots will pull and pack groceries at the giant warehouses. Ultimately, Kroger plans 20 robot fulfillment centers across America.
From this, we can see that corporations are already using robots to kill jobs. Moreover, robots are taking working-class jobs which could lead to political unrest and riots. This is because people who cannot find work could riot or engage in terrorism.
It’s Not Just Robots: Apps Kill Jobs Too
Robots are not the only job killers you need to fear. Oddly enough, apps are killing jobs at companies like Bank of America.
In fact, Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan is bragging about his company’s ability to kill jobs [10] to stock market analysts. Moynihan tells analysts his bank eliminated “more employees than Delta has I think” since he became CEO.
For the record, Bank of America employed 288,000 people when Moynihan became CEO in 2010. Notwithstanding, Bank of America had 204,000 employees as of October 2018. In comparison, Delta Airlines currently employs around 80,000 people.
Particularly, Moynihan brags that Bank of America is replacing employees with apps, robotic process automation [11], and ATMs. Software and ATMs are now doing the work formerly done by Bank of America employees. Significantly, you no longer need to go to the bank because you can deposit checks with an app.
Robots Become A Political Issue
Consequently, robots and technological unemployment will be major issues in the 2020 presidential campaign.
In fact, Democrat Andrew Yang [12] is campaigning on technological job loss. For instance, Yang’s slogan is “Humanity First” and his campaign promises “human-centered capitalism.”
In particular, Yang [13] wants America to pay every citizen a $1,000 a month Basic Income or Freedom Dividend. In detail, a basic income is an automatic cash payment every citizen receives from the government.
Yang thinks America needs a basic income because machines will kill many jobs. In addition, Yang does not believe the economy can create enough jobs for all the people technology is leaving jobless.
To elaborate, Yang will pay for his Freedom Dividend with a Value-Added Tax (VAT [14]). Specifically, a VAT is a sales tax on most transactions in the country. VAT rates can be high, though, as the United Kingdom’s current VAT rate is 20%.
As a result, robots are now a political issue and they could increase your taxes.
Will Technology Disrupt Next Year’s Presidential Election?
The robot issue may not go away soon either because Andrew Yang is doing remarkably well in the Democratic presidential primary.
For instance, Yang is out-polling better-known candidates such as Julian Castro and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Nonetheless, Yang’s numbers are still small. Presently, Real Clear Politics’ average of polls estimates his support at 1.3%.
Moreover, Yang’s campaign is also taking in a lot of cash [15]. CNN claims that Yang raised $1.7 million from 80,000 donors in the first three months of 2019. In particular, Yang claims to have received $250,000 in four days.
Strangely, Yang’s [16] “viral popularity on social media feels reminiscent of the “meme army” that helped lift President Trump to victory in 2016,” Kevin Roose writes in The New York Times. So, Yang could potentially disrupt the Democrats the way that President Donald J. Trump shook up the Republican party.
In conclusion, the robot revolution could be the most important issue in America soon. You should prepare for the robot revolution now before jobs start to disappear and society collapses.
You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid News article: Students Who Share Gun Photos Get Suspended In Social Media Frenzy [17]
Do you have any thoughts on the robot revolution? How many jobs do you think will be lost in America as a result of increased automation? Let us know in the comments below.