Automation and the Worker

SAFFIR the U.S. Navy's firefighting robot:
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I think the future of firefighting IS going to be robotic and that era may be approaching faster than many might think.

Perhaps that's why we've seen the dilution of standards in many Fire Departments over the years, accelerating over the last decade. Maybe it's being done to hasten the end of the human firefighter.

I hate to say it, as it sounds calloused, by I don't care very much about "future would-be firefighters" any more than I do, "future would-be ditch diggers," replaced by heavy equipment.

Old jobs (stage coach drivers, wagon wheel makers, buggy whip makers, etc.) are lost, but new ones (auto makers, electricians, train personnel, truck drivers, mechanics, etc.) are created.

I don't know what the workplace will look like in 20 years, but I think it'll be unrecognizable compared to today's.

New jobs will emerge and old ones will be eliminated.

The FDNY was dealt a massive blow on 9/11 and the city has seen the opportunity to transform the job...that is, the way the job is actually done.

The hero of the Notre Dame fire was a robot. Robots don't get hurt, they don't get sick, they don't need pensions and health insurance.

As the city's finances and those of most Municipalities become stressed, those massive savings will be impossible to pass up.

The workplace changes and workers MUST adapt. Those who made wagon wheels had to get into tire making, or auto assembly line work. As workers, we sell a commodity (labor), but we must tailor our skills to the job market, not the reverse.

Better to invest in robotic stocks; like COGNEX, NICE Ltd., Rockwell Automation and ROBO Global, rather than complain about the changing job market.

The LABORER/WORKER is an individual, a human being, but his/her LABOR is a commodity that we, as individuals sell on the job market.
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