tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post92255236557311166..comments2024-02-23T01:30:06.101-08:00Comments on Early Warning: What we Spend our Economy OnStuart Stanifordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-74022314294222653042010-05-25T22:13:20.663-07:002010-05-25T22:13:20.663-07:00I recall reading somewhere that the Japanese are s...I recall reading somewhere that the Japanese are seriously working on the robotic solution to the problem of who will take care of all the old folks. One hopes they'll have better luck with the robots than Europe is having with guest workers and immigrants from mostly Muslim countries.<br /><br />Assuming that populations continue to decline in the industrialized countries (and who, reading The Population Bomb 40 years ago, would have predicted THAT?), do you think these general trends will continue? This could solve the problem of overconsumption...<br /><br />So, if we end up living in a world where robotics and even nanotechnology can provide us with most (or even all) of our physical needs, will we all just provide "services" to each other? I'll take in your laundry if you'll take in mine.MisterMoosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14484672208906420595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-91931819275051790912010-05-24T23:11:52.302-07:002010-05-24T23:11:52.302-07:00John:
The top one is "Other Services". ...John:<br /><br />The top one is "Other Services". Sorry, I didn't realize I'd tweaked it out of site in formatting the graph. Glad to see someone is scrutinizing the data closely!Stuart Stanifordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-77291763192947206112010-05-24T22:27:16.653-07:002010-05-24T22:27:16.653-07:00A question and a comment:
What are the light green...A question and a comment:<br />What are the light green areas/ lines in charts 4 and 5? I count 9 items charted and only 8 descriptors.<br />Re automation and healthcare: Soon after I started working in a VA Hospital pharmacy in the mid 70s, automatic packaging of pharmaceuticals was introduced. It was sold as a way to decrease personnel costs and improve dose delivery accuracy. At the time there were two pharmacists,two pharmacy technicians and one clerk working in the pharmacy. When I retired 3 years ago, there was a million doller robotic packaging machine in a sealed clean room, and four times as many pharmacists, clerks and technicians in a new space about 6 times as large. As the technology improved, they kept on finding new things to do with it!John Kaayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16570233232502054673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-47851695681322428282010-05-24T13:26:50.114-07:002010-05-24T13:26:50.114-07:00Thanks, Stuart. You probably guessed the reason I ...Thanks, Stuart. You probably guessed the reason I asked--education is ripe for automation just as is medicine. <br /><br />There is just as much need, too. The frequency at which people need to retrain during their working lives is increasing, so there is a lot of latent demand for cheap, good-quality education up to the lower tertiary levels.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11939046017258198038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-87126287377857383832010-05-24T12:51:32.390-07:002010-05-24T12:51:32.390-07:00Greg:
There's a small amount of "Educati...Greg:<br /><br />There's a small amount of "Education" in "Other Services" - I think private schools, test prep services, etc. However, the bulk of education spending is done by government.Stuart Stanifordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-74421838710469343892010-05-24T12:31:14.585-07:002010-05-24T12:31:14.585-07:00Maybe you were being facetious with your last sent...Maybe you were being facetious with your last sentence, but I think it's the literal truth -- and that it will happen quite soon, within decades. It's probably happening now, if I were to look.<br /><br />The combination of machine vision, expert systems, modern sensor technologies, robotics, and the "internet of things" (RFID on passive objects, communications on powered ones) are all the ingredients needed to automate most of medicine -- all the routine stuff. We don't need any technology breakthroughs such as machine intelligence. We can do it now.<br /><br />As you have pointed out, it's almost certain to make economic sense to automate. And, as well as lowering costs, automation improves quality. So this will be a good thing from the consumer's point of view. <br /><br />The same reasoning applies to many other industries: transport and logistics, construction, security and public order, education. <br /><br />Oh, and the other attributes of robots (robustness, and in a pinch disposability) make it sensible to use them in mining, forestry, and military applications.<br /><br />BTW, where is education in the above charts? I guess it's accounted for separately, not in personal consumption.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11939046017258198038noreply@blogger.com