The last job on Earth: imagining a fully automated world
Machines could take 50% of our jobs in the next 30 years, according to scientists.
While we can’t predict the future, we can imagine a world without work – one where those who own the tech get rich from it and everyone else ekes out a living, propped up by an increasingly fragile state. Meet Alice, holder of the last recognizable job on Earth, trying to make sense of her role in an automated world.
People shouldn't be afraid of Artificial Intelligence technology. They should be afraid of the people who will use this technology to gain more power. People are inherently evil, and corporations will only become more powerful as they replace their workforces with machines that are blindly obedient and work for free. You don't think corporations are too powerful already? They already have their tentacles in every corner of government, pulling the strings on their political puppets. AI will never be used for the "good" of mankind, but rather for the benefit of the rich and powerful to become more rich and powerful. You idiots blindly supporting this tech and having visions of a free and happy utopia need to wake the fuck up.
Automation can be defined as the technology by which a process or procedure is performed without human assistance.
In other words, Automation or automatic control is the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers and heat treating ovens, switching on telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships, aircraft and other applications and vehicles with minimal or reduced human intervention, with some processes have been completely automated.
Automation has been achieved by various means including mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices and computers, usually in combination. Complicated systems, such as modern factories, airplanesand ships typically use all these combined techniques. The benefit of automation include labor savings, savings in electricity costs, savings in material costs, and improvements to quality, accuracy and precision.
The term automation, inspired by the earlier word automatic (coming from automaton), was not widely used before 1947, when Ford established an automation department. It was during this time that industry was rapidly adopting feedback controllers, which were introduced in the 1930s.
Computer control
Control of an automated teller machine (ATM) is an example of an interactive process in which a computer will perform a logic derived response to a user selection based on information retrieved from a networked database. The ATM process has similarities with other online transaction processes. The different logical responses are called scenarios. Such processes are typically designed with the aid of use cases and flowcharts, which guide the writing of the software code.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages of automation are:
· Increased throughput or productivity.
· Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.
· Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.
· Increased consistency of output.
· Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses.
The following methods are often employed to improve productivity, quality, or robustness.
· Install automation in operations to reduce cycle time.
· Install automation where a high degree of accuracy is required.
· Replacing human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or monotonous work.
· Replacing humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)
· Performing tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight, speed, endurance, etc.
· Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.
· Frees up workers to take on other roles.
· Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance and running of the automated processes.
The main disadvantages of automation are:
· Security Threats/Vulnerability: An automated system may have a limited level of intelligence, and is therefore more susceptible to committing errors outside of its immediate scope of knowledge (e.g., it is typically unable to apply the rules of simple logic to general propositions).
· Unpredictable/excessive development costs: The research and development cost of automating a process may exceed the cost saved by the automation itself.
· High initial cost: The automation of a new product or plant typically requires a very large initial investment in comparison with the unit cost of the product, although the cost of automation may be spread among many products and over time.
In manufacturing, the purpose of automation has shifted to issues broader than productivity, cost, and time.
Engineers can now have numerical control over automated devices. The result has been a rapidly expanding range of applications and human activities. Computer-aided technologies (or CAx) now serve as the basis for mathematical and organizational tools used to create complex systems. Notable examples of CAx include Computer-aided design (CAD software) and Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM software). The improved design, analysis, and manufacture of products enabled by CAx has been beneficial for industry.
Information technology, together with industrial machinery and processes, can assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of control systems. One example of an industrial control system is a programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs are specialized hardened computers which are frequently used to synchronize the flow of inputs from (physical) sensors and events with the flow of outputs to actuators and events.
Human-machine interfaces (HMI) or computer human interfaces (CHI), formerly known as man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to communicate with PLCs and other computers. Service personnel who monitor and control through HMIs can be called by different names. In industrial process and manufacturing environments, they are called operators or something similar. In boiler houses and central utilities departments they are called stationary engineers.
Different types of automation tools exist:
· ANN - Artificial neural network
· DCS - Distributed Control System
· HMI - Human Machine Interface
· SCADA - Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
· PLC - Programmable Logic Controller
· Robotics
When it comes to factory automation, Host Simulation Software (HSS) is a commonly used testing tool that is used to test the equipment software. HSS is used to test equipment performance with respect to Factory Automation standards (timeouts, response time, processing time).
Emerging applications
- Automated retail
- Automated mining
- Automated video surveillance
- Automated highway systems
- Automated waste management
- Home automation
- Laboratory automation
- Industrial automation
- Industrial Robotics
- Agent-assisted automation
Advantages
· Replaces hard physical or monotonous work
· Tasks in hazardous environments, such as extreme temperatures, or atmospheres that are radioactive or toxic can be done by machines
· Faster production and cheaper labor costs
· Automation can be maintained with simple quality checks.
· Can perform tasks beyond human capabilities.
Disadvantages
· As of now, not all tasks can be automated
· Some tasks are more expensive to automate
· Initial costs are high
· Failure to maintain a system could result in the loss of the product
Thanks to Wikipedia: Automation
Curiosity is the single most important attribute with which humans are born. More than a simple desire to discover or know things, curiosity is a powerful tool, like a scalpel or a searchlight. Curiosity changes us. It is also a way to effect change, perhaps even on a global level.