Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Foxconn to Replace a Portion of its Workers with 1 Million Robots

DrJohnnyN said:
Speak for yourself.

My M.D. degree is a blank check.
Click to expand...

Hardly. The current medical system is already out of date given technological progress and the ease of access to information. Out side of a few specialties, there's just about nothing a few lab tests, a tech, a pharmacist and google couldn't do, nearly all of which could be done by a robot and a few scripts.

We could probably do this today even, but people are happier accepting "human error" than mechanical failures. Even though mechanical failures are more rare. For example, we could probably automate around 90% of the job tasks of sport referees or umpires, but progress doing that is very slow. So, naturally, it will take even longer to replace a typical doctors visit with stepping up to a computer with a robot that will ask some questions, have access to all your medical records, even your genome, draw blood, do an X-ray, take your blood pressure, etc, even though doing that would be far cheaper, faster and more accurate.

Sure, you might need someone to look at your X-ray, as programming computers to recognize stuff like that is difficult, but you do you really think it takes ~10+ years of higher education to become a proficient radiologist? Do you think it is really work that should command a 6 figure salary (that can go up above 400K a year)? You shouldn't. Hospitals are already outsourcing that kind of work to India...

The whole structure of the field and method of training is obsolete. But who am I kinding. I'm talking to an MD that thinks he's got a blank check... Might as well save the electrons.
 
linux2mac said:
Interesting. Best Buy founder Richard Schulze never went to college. Steve Jobs was a college dropout yet he has top Ivy League business school graduates and PhD's working for him. Perhaps Richard and Steve should have followed your advice.
Click to expand...

Billionaires that didn't graduate college
Bill gates, Larry Ellison, Paul Allen, Christy Walton.
Ingvar Kamprad (ikea)
 
*Steve Jobs Steps on stage*

"Thank you for that demonstration Tim,.....Wow...those completely new iPhone 5's are really neat, and we think your gonna love them.

But, how are we going to perfect the manufacturing of complete glass iPhones you might ask, well...we have One More Thing....

...Ladies and Gentlemen, our newest addition to Apple Inc,

GlaDos!"

Hey a machead can dream can't he?
 
wallysb01 said:
The whole structure of the field and method of training is obsolete. But who am I kinding. I'm talking to an MD that thinks he's got a blank check... Might as well save the electrons.
Click to expand...

I'm a P&R surgeon.
People once went to therapists to feel more confident - now they're turning to me.
 
DrJohnnyN said:
I'm a PRS surgeon.
People once went to therapists to feel more confident - now they're turning to me.
Click to expand...

And surgeons will be some of the harder things to replace, for now. For example, what happens to your field once we figure out how to regenerate limbs? Sounds crazy, but it might be as simple as "activating" a few genes. After all salamanders can do it, why can't we? You might think its crazy now, but I imagine people growing up in the 30's never thought they'd see a man walk on the moon either. Sometime progress happens in a flash. You should be careful when you think you just wrote your own blank check.
 
wallysb01 said:
And surgeons will be some of the harder things to replace, for now. For example, what happens to your field once we figure out how to regenerate limbs? Sounds crazy, but it might be as simple as "activating" a few genes. After all salamanders can do it, why can't we? You might think its crazy now, but I imagine people growing up in the 30's never thought they'd see a man walk on the moon either. Sometime progress happens in a flash. You should be careful when you think you just wrote your own blank check.
Click to expand...

iGene...download in the "Med App Store" for $25,000.
Lol
 
wallysb01 said:
And surgeons will be some of the harder things to replace, for now. For example, what happens to your field once we figure out how to regenerate limbs? Sounds crazy, but it might be as simple as "activating" a few genes. After all salamanders can do it, why can't we? You might think its crazy now, but I imagine people growing up in the 30's never thought they'd see a man walk on the moon either. Sometime progress happens in a flash. You should be careful when you think you just wrote your own blank check.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to move to a third world country and heal machete wounds and female genital mutilation and other unspeakable monstrosities. :)

Lets see a big corporation fund such endeavors for free.
 
All you people complaint about workers suicides and that now caused employees to lose their jobs. At least iPhone prices will stay low in the future!
 
DrJohnnyN said:
I'm pretty sure that I'm going to move to a third world country and heal machete wounds and female genital mutilation and other unspeakable monstrosities. :)

Lets see a big corporation fund such endeavors for free.
Click to expand...

And nobel sole you would be, but you might just be carrying a little box with some cream in it.
 
wallysb01 said:
And nobel sole you would be, but you might just be carrying a little box with some cream in it.
Click to expand...

Can't wait.
I love when people shake my hand in gratitude for doing the simplest thing.
And I love discharging patients who are healed.
 
Ok, but stringent requirements must be met for rickshaw applicants! :D

pyn said:
To those complaining: maybe we should also stop using word processing software and instead hire scribes to produce any written documents. Oh and while we're at it, let's stop using any mode of automated transportation and hire people to pull us on rickshaws.
Click to expand...
 
DrJohnnyN said:
I'm pretty sure that I'm going to move to a third world country and heal machete wounds and female genital mutilation and other unspeakable monstrosities. :)

Lets see a big corporation fund such endeavors for free.
Click to expand...

Your problem is not finding patients. Always enough of them out there. But with so many people out of work, people would be able to afford your services anymore. So you'll have a generation of people forgoing the medical treatments they need cause they simply cant afford the uberly high prices charged by people like yourself.

So you want the sick to be all employed so they can afford your skills to heal them. Ie. you want a low employment rate.

I'm in the same boat. I'm a chef. And unemployed people don't eat out much. So less business for us.
 
wallysb01 said:
Hardly. The current medical system is already out of date given technological progress and the ease of access to information. Out side of a few specialties, there's just about nothing a few lab tests, a tech, a pharmacist and google couldn't do, nearly all of which could be done by a robot and a few scripts.

We could probably do this today even, but people are happier accepting "human error" than mechanical failures. Even though mechanical failures are more rare. For example, we could probably automate around 90% of the job tasks of sport referees or umpires, but progress doing that is very slow. So, naturally, it will take even longer to replace a typical doctors visit with stepping up to a computer with a robot that will ask some questions, have access to all your medical records, even your genome, draw blood, do an X-ray, take your blood pressure, etc, even though doing that would be far cheaper, faster and more accurate.

Sure, you might need someone to look at your X-ray, as programming computers to recognize stuff like that is difficult, but you do you really think it takes ~10+ years of higher education to become a proficient radiologist? Do you think it is really work that should command a 6 figure salary (that can go up above 400K a year)? You shouldn't. Hospitals are already outsourcing that kind of work to India...

The whole structure of the field and method of training is obsolete. But who am I kinding. I'm talking to an MD that thinks he's got a blank check... Might as well save the electrons.
Click to expand...

Someone is mad they didn't go to medical school.
 
Mr. Gates said:
I have to wonder from a consumer standpoint : What is better ...

A. To have my device put together by a machine that does it the same way every time.

Or

B. A human who might make a mistake, but also sees when mistakes are made.

What system is better ?

There have been many cases of defects and recalls coming from ucallibrated robots.

And human error is inevitable.

But if the humans calibrate the robots......

ERROR

ERROR.

Inititiate Meltdown
Click to expand...

Just don't let MS, HP, or LG make the robots, and have double checker robots.
 
That's one way to stop worrying about working conditions...

But is this video directly related to Foxconn's plan? Are they going to buy *that model* (Frida) of robot, or more traditional factory robots? This is not stated in the article, but the former is implied by including the video.
 
JarScott said:
Aren't we meant to be creating more jobs? Not taking them away.
Click to expand...
Exactly. By freeing up people from doing mundane repetitive tasks that can easily be replaced by robots, you allow them the free time to get an education and do something more meaningful.
 
linux2mac said:
Interesting. Best Buy founder Richard Schulze never went to college. Steve Jobs was a college dropout yet he has top Ivy League business school graduates and PhD's working for him. Perhaps Richard and Steve should have followed your advice.
Click to expand...

Besides, if everyone goes to college, it would be like everyone not going to college, and the winners would be those who went to better colleges (high paying jobs) and those who are intelligent (Steve Jobs).
 
shurcooL said:
Exactly. By freeing up people from doing mundane repetitive tasks that can easily be replaced by robots, you allow them the free time to get an education and do something more meaningful.
Click to expand...
And how can you expect these people (with no government assistance) to pay for this education? They can hardly afford the food they eat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back