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Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by hrktb on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @04:50PM (#18188750)
I see the /s, but these workers are well educated, as any average Japanese is, relatively speaking.

It’s not that of an ordeal for them to move to another job.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by x220 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @04:52PM (#18188769)
>move to another job

And when that job gets automated?

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by darkstar999 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @04:56PM (#18188806)
We used to be 90%+ farmers. We'll find a way.
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by hn_throwaway_99 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:06PM (#18188887)
Then give some examples. The "well, we've always found a way before" is just hand waving without specifics. Importantly, if you consider a model where the rate of technological progress steadily increases, it's very possible that rate at one point will overtake the rate at which new jobs are created. When/if that happens, the calamity will come quite suddenly, even if decades and centuries prior we always found more jobs for the ones that technology destroyed.
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by leesec on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:29PM (#18189092)
I do find it hilarious that as people we generally hate going to work, but at the same time we also fear losing our jobs.

Jobs/careers are a relatively new idea as far as I know, I think we can figure out something to do without them.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by hn_throwaway_99 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @06:07PM (#18189368)
> I do find it hilarious that as people we generally hate going to work, but at the same time we also fear losing our jobs.

People also like eating, and buying Netflix subscriptions. There are plenty of people in places like Africa and Asia that have lots of time on their hands without jobs, and I don't think they think it's a plus.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by taneq on Thursday October 11, 2018 @08:53AM (#18193062)
> as people we generally hate going to work, but at the same time we also fear losing our incomes
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by logfromblammo on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:53PM (#18189250)
In that changeover, farmers remained farmers, while their children trained to work other jobs. The attrition happened on a generational scale. There are only so many times you can ask a single individual to change careers during their lifetime.

Our ancestors, all the way up to our grandparents, changed careers zero times. Our parents changed careers once. In the acceleration of technological development, we may be required to consider changing two or more times, even as the market cost of retraining and education increases. Nobody will have time to become an expert, because the domains old enough to have any of them will become obsolete too quickly.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by munificent on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:27PM (#18189072)
Between there and here are several violent revolutions where millions died. It would be nice to find a safer way.
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by jpetso on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @09:05PM (#18190307)
If we can't find a way conventionally, at least there's always the option of becoming desperate, voting for populists and going to war sometime. After the war is over, there will also be more work because we've destroyed a shitload of infrastructure that now has to be rebuilt. Problem solved!
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by antoinette_ on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @07:43PM (#18189923)
Young people can't afford to buy farmland anymore and we're losing topsoil at a concerning rate.
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by x220 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:05PM (#18188879)
Yes, and now farming is mostly automated... and manufacturing... and soon service sector jobs. What's left after that?
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by lghh on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @04:59PM (#18188827)
Yes, we plan on finding a way. That's why we're discussing alternatives. We can find a way by accident.
Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by codefined on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:05PM (#18188881)
So, the first shift was manual labour being automated during the industrial revolution. Now slowly intellectual jobs are being replaced. The only unique aspect a human has after this are emotional jobs (psychiatrist, etc).

There are not enough emotional jobs that can be created to fulfill 7 billion people (a quickly rising number). I think we're going to need a shift in the mindset of people. Jobs aren't required, we should instead look at increasing recreational activities available to people and try to enjoy our lives.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by x220 on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @05:09PM (#18188911)
>There are not enough emotional jobs that can be created to fulfill 7 billion people

I hope the number of emotive-based jobs increase in the future, because mental health is an under-served problem. But the number of emotive-based jobs will never be enough for everyone because those jobs require a certain kind of sensitive, agreeable, or sociable personality.

Re:Uniqlo cut 90% of staff at one warehouse by replacing the... by hrktb on Wednesday October 10, 2018 @07:45PM (#18189929)
Then a ton of jobs will have been automated, and as a society we’ll take a hard look at the situation to find a solution. The only limit is what we accept as a compromise.

But otherwise we could take any of these workers and move them to a developping country, they would have a great impact. It just won’t happen as that’s not how most of them view their future.