Mass unemployment and no plan to deal with it (with me being one of the people affected within a few years).
Why on earth do you think that's an excessively optimistic position?
If you'd said you thought I was being excessively pessimistic, that would have been consistent. I'd still think you're wrong, but I could see how you reached that conclusion.
.nope youre being wildy optimistic on the progression of machine inteligence, robotics and production costs.
Much in the same way somone saying "omg fusion is going to destroy the fossil fuel industry within a few years" would be wildly optimistic
Current largest automation project ive seen (costing hundreds of millions and been in consturction for over a year, and design for several) has resulted in massive intake of contractors to stand where the robots should be and do the drilling cause the robots just dont work.
And this is a task that should be ideally suited to robots (putting bitts of metal together then drilling through).
Also when it is actually working as planned its expected to need several hundred people to still work as operators, this doesnt include maintainence or the manufacture of the robots.
And will prroduce even more jobs down the line to keep up with the machines production (if it ever works).
Every time people say automation will cost jobs its often lead to an increase over all as theres more volume.
Something really complicated like replacing menial labour in shops wpuld be hilarious to watch.
Most of what your citing as automation isnt automation at all its simply replacing the employee with the customer, self service tills, online banking, pay at pump. No work is really being done by a robot or machine just now the customer scans thier own stuff, fills in thier own forms and operates thier own till.
Its all still a human doing the same action.
If you think you're going to lose your job within "a few years" to a machine im interested what you do?
