SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"They're creating a robot economy in order to displace you and me with inexpensive machines that don't demand higher wages or health care, don't take sick days or vacations, and don't organize unions, file lawsuits, or vote for pro-worker politicians." (Photo: Universal Robots)
Are You Ready For Corporate America's Robot Economy?
It’s to be a plutocratic utopia designed by and for the corporate elite.
Oct 20, 2017
There's a robot in your future. Not one of those cute little labor-saving automatons - like a "Roomba" vacuum cleaner.
Far from saving you from doing extra labor, this new wave of robots is being brought into your workplace to rescue corporate bosses from paying you to work for them. Oh, you might think, not my workplace, for I'm not a factory worker - I've got a college degree and I work with my brain, so no contraption doing rote mechanical tasks can take my job.
But wait, these are "thinking machines," implanted with complex neural networks and superfast algorithmic computers that operate in sync, functioning much like the cluster of specialized cells in the human brain. These brainy bots have a fast-evolving ability to watch, listen, and learn on their own, even able to produce and teach other robots. Not only are they displacing flesh-and-blood workers on factory assembly lines, but millions of them are now being moved into professional, managerial, creative, and other occupations previously assumed to be the secure domains of higher-educated, higher-paid people... maybe even yours.
To be clear, it's not robots that are taking our jobs, but corporate profiteers. They're creating a robot economy in order to displace you and me with inexpensive machines that don't demand higher wages or health care, don't take sick days or vacations, and don't organize unions, file lawsuits, or vote for pro-worker politicians. It's to be a plutocratic utopia designed by and for the corporate elite - and they're pushing it hard and fast, hoping We the People don't wake up until it's too late.
Robots are not our enemy - the corporate bosses, bankers, and BSers who own robots are the ones doing this to us, and now is the time for all of us whom they're about to discard to rebel against their socially destructive greed.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
There's a robot in your future. Not one of those cute little labor-saving automatons - like a "Roomba" vacuum cleaner.
Far from saving you from doing extra labor, this new wave of robots is being brought into your workplace to rescue corporate bosses from paying you to work for them. Oh, you might think, not my workplace, for I'm not a factory worker - I've got a college degree and I work with my brain, so no contraption doing rote mechanical tasks can take my job.
But wait, these are "thinking machines," implanted with complex neural networks and superfast algorithmic computers that operate in sync, functioning much like the cluster of specialized cells in the human brain. These brainy bots have a fast-evolving ability to watch, listen, and learn on their own, even able to produce and teach other robots. Not only are they displacing flesh-and-blood workers on factory assembly lines, but millions of them are now being moved into professional, managerial, creative, and other occupations previously assumed to be the secure domains of higher-educated, higher-paid people... maybe even yours.
To be clear, it's not robots that are taking our jobs, but corporate profiteers. They're creating a robot economy in order to displace you and me with inexpensive machines that don't demand higher wages or health care, don't take sick days or vacations, and don't organize unions, file lawsuits, or vote for pro-worker politicians. It's to be a plutocratic utopia designed by and for the corporate elite - and they're pushing it hard and fast, hoping We the People don't wake up until it's too late.
Robots are not our enemy - the corporate bosses, bankers, and BSers who own robots are the ones doing this to us, and now is the time for all of us whom they're about to discard to rebel against their socially destructive greed.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
There's a robot in your future. Not one of those cute little labor-saving automatons - like a "Roomba" vacuum cleaner.
Far from saving you from doing extra labor, this new wave of robots is being brought into your workplace to rescue corporate bosses from paying you to work for them. Oh, you might think, not my workplace, for I'm not a factory worker - I've got a college degree and I work with my brain, so no contraption doing rote mechanical tasks can take my job.
But wait, these are "thinking machines," implanted with complex neural networks and superfast algorithmic computers that operate in sync, functioning much like the cluster of specialized cells in the human brain. These brainy bots have a fast-evolving ability to watch, listen, and learn on their own, even able to produce and teach other robots. Not only are they displacing flesh-and-blood workers on factory assembly lines, but millions of them are now being moved into professional, managerial, creative, and other occupations previously assumed to be the secure domains of higher-educated, higher-paid people... maybe even yours.
To be clear, it's not robots that are taking our jobs, but corporate profiteers. They're creating a robot economy in order to displace you and me with inexpensive machines that don't demand higher wages or health care, don't take sick days or vacations, and don't organize unions, file lawsuits, or vote for pro-worker politicians. It's to be a plutocratic utopia designed by and for the corporate elite - and they're pushing it hard and fast, hoping We the People don't wake up until it's too late.
Robots are not our enemy - the corporate bosses, bankers, and BSers who own robots are the ones doing this to us, and now is the time for all of us whom they're about to discard to rebel against their socially destructive greed.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.