
China Aims to Retool Its Manufacturing Industry with Robots - cpeterso
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/544201/china-wants-to-replace-millions-of-workers-with-robots/
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vixen99
"China is laying the groundwork for a robot revolution by planning to automate
the work currently done by millions of low-paid workers."

Any ideas about what China has in mind for those 'millions of low-paid
workers'?

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melling
Educate them and turn people into scientists, engineers, doctors, medical
researchers, lawyers, computer programmers, etc?

China's population growth is slowing. Doesn't sound like they'll have the
extra people. Better to educate them and move upmarket.

[http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2010/09/china-
pop...](http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2010/09/china-population-
wang)

~~~
yggydrasily
> Doesn't sound like they'll have the extra people.

When automation wipes out 99.99% of jobs, nearly all people will be "extra"
people. Globally.

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hackuser
An interesting thought on automation from Bob Work, who heads the Pentagon's
long-range planning for robotics and automation on the battlefield. I don't
know that it's true or how broadly it applies, but it's something to think
about regarding how automation is conceived of in different cultures:

 _I will make a hypothesis: that authoritarian regimes who believe people are
weaknesses ... that they can not be trusted, they will naturally gravitate
toward totally automated solutions. Why do I know that? Because that is
exactly the way the Soviets conceived of their reconnaissance strike complex.
It was going to be completely automated. We believe that the advantage we have
as we start this competition is our people_ [1]

The Pentagon's research and current planning is that human-computer teams are
much more effective than either alone, in many situations.

[1] [http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2015/12/pentagon-
nervous-a...](http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2015/12/pentagon-nervous-
about-russian-and-chinese-killer-robots/124465/)

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ZoeZoeBee
It would have been a lot easier to simply take the blue pill, if anyone
honestly believes this does not all come to a head I wish you the best in your
blissful ignorance

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loaaa
how about their workers? a lot of people will loss jobs because of robot

