Automation - paradise or damnation

Technological development must be regulated

Ukraine might just be one of the first lands suffering wars tjat systematically make use of robot soliders. Maybe robots don’t cause less or lower paying jobs as

Noah Smith

thinks or hoped, but it’s still important to combine technologocal development with the state funding a push for full employment.

Historically, where there has been a lack of workers, technology has boomed. The ancient Romans and Greek had technology for steam engines and railroads but used this only as cheap toys or for doors opening automatically to make the emperor seem divine. The reason argued in antiquity was that the slaves back then

were so cheap and should have something to work with.

Low rate of unemployment in Sweden aroudn 1990

Around 1990 in Sweden unemployment was low and new technology and new organizations as for example at Volvo made working life more equal, free and healthy for the factory workers. The capitalist power was terrified and the state was big part of causing the 1990’s financial crisis in Sweden to cause permanent high unemployment so factory workers have to obey without grunting. The US also has a check on workers’ rights. So the Amazon company’s automation make its workers unthinking robot hands and feet. If the US and other governments would give public, good work positions to everyone, the private sector would have to invent more productive and ergonomical technology that liberated and made life easier and more equal for the workers to attract job seekers.

One scary fact about automation, is the development of robot soldiers. These could give a despot total power over its people’s right to live or die. Combine this with fully automated robot workers, and most poor and middle class people could be disposable. The power elite could use the robots to kill most of humanity to save the environment and nature for the remaining rich.

Integration of Robot Soldiers

The development and deployment of robot soldiers are progressing rapidly, with significant strides being made by military forces around the world. The U.S. Army, for instance, is actively experimenting with human-machine integrated formations. These efforts aim to combine the strengths of human soldiers with the capabilities of advanced robotics to create more effective and resilient military units.

One prominent example is the U.S. Army's Project Convergence, which showcases the integration of robots, drones, and AI to enhance battlefield operations. This project demonstrated the use of various robotic systems, including ground robots equipped with mine-clearing line charges and drones capable of deploying munitions. These technologies are designed to offload risk from human soldiers and provide additional information for decision-making in combat scenarios​ (Defense News)​.

Technological and Ethical Challenges

The integration of autonomous robots into military operations is not without its challenges. Technologically, the military must overcome issues related to sensor reliability, AI decision-making, and the interoperability of different robotic systems. There are also significant ethical concerns regarding the use of autonomous weapons, often referred to as "killer robots."

These ethical issues include the delegation of life-and-death decisions to machines, which many argue dehumanizes violence and poses risks of algorithmic bias. Additionally, there are legal concerns about the ability of these systems to distinguish between combatants and civilians, which is crucial for adhering to international humanitarian law​ (Harvard Gazette)​.

Global Efforts and Concerns

The global community is divided on the issue of autonomous weapons. While some countries push for strict regulations or outright bans, others, including the U.S. and the U.K., support nonbinding rules. This has led to slow progress in international disarmament discussions. Recently, the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee on Disarmament and International Security adopted a resolution to gather opinions on autonomous weapons systems, signaling a step towards broader international dialogue on this critical issue​ (Harvard Gazette)​.

An hostile singularity

And if we develop a singularity more intelligent than humankind, how can we know it won’t kill us either because it’s evil or because it finds us evil.

Technological development must be regulated for the public good. An easy way of regulation technology is for the state to minimize unemployment.

The Deficit myth by

Stephanie Kelton

shows this does not have to lead to high inflation as long as effort is put into making most of productivity. Inflation does more have to do with production being too low or not benefiting human needs, than workers pay being to high.

And labour unions could probably be made to cooperate if a fight against inflation would be necessary.

Productivity growth muste be sustainable

The Entrepreneurial State by Mariana Mazzucato also proves that a big public sector can help with and often is beneficial to technological and medical breakthroughs. Mrs Mazzucato proves with much empirical facts that it is most often the state or state funding that historically cause the major technological and medical breakthroughs. Even in modern USA.

Productivity is not only about working but also about consumption. If the workers have more free time and more money, they can consume more or use its time to its hobbies or ideological interests.

But productivity must also calculate to save nature, the environment, the biological diversity and the climate. Nature is the prime factor of prodictivity.

But poor and middleclass people consume much less than the wealthiest.

And if we created a society where people were more equal, had better psychological and physical health and created products with higher longevity, the common people’s comsumption would not have to destroy nature because people wouldn’t have to consume to achieve high status or to dampen their unhappiness.

It is dangerous with a goal for productivity that mostly only benefits the richest elite.

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