“Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained?”

The human race has come so far overtime. We went from living in caves and hunting down our food, to ordering any type of food you want on an app and getting it delivered to your doorsteps in a matter of minutes.  In my opinion, where we’re at in technology is perfect and I don’t believe that advancements further than this are really necessary, it’s just a luxury.  With technology expanding on a day to day basis, there are very high chances of it reaching into our workforce.  Yes, it will absolutely make the processes easier for business owners, but how will it affect our day to day life?

With robots taking the place of employees, there can be a few positives.  Companies will end up not having to pay for things such as healthcare and benefits, workers comp and cases filed against the workplace due to injuries will decrease, the accuracy of the work done will improve, and much more. Robots will speed up the process, but is that enough to improve society? With all these changes there can be negative outcomes, especially when it involves something so important as employment.  What might those downsides be?

“In the US alone, between 39 and 73 million jobs stand to be automated- making up around a third of the total workforce.” (Vincent, 2017)  What does a person do when all the jobs that they can qualify for are taken up by robots?  There’s a chance that this will make the higher class thrive and the middle and lower class suffer drastically.  Anyone with a minimum wage entry level job will find themselves unemployed and potentially homeless.  Certain college degrees will be useless, such as in the 80s when the personal computer was introduced and many in the accounting industry lost their jobs.  This was a minor change but it was the beginning of a whole revolution.

Although there will be a huge loss of jobs and an outstanding decrease in unemployment, there will be newer jobs introduced.  If politics handles this situation properly and introduces these changes and advice to the public, there are chances things may run smoothly. Either way, most physical labor jobs will be replaced with AI and healthcare jobs will increase greatly. Any type of low or medium skilled job will decline and higher skilled and accredited jobs will be the ticket to getting by.  Economies that are at a higher pace of development such as the US and Germany will be the first to face these changes.

The grass always seems greener on the other side and yes, getting the technology to eliminate expenses for employees and the amount of work that would be needed to perform these jobs does seem delightful.  The whole idea of AI taking over the workforce is to eliminate full time jobs and open up more space for human beings to enjoy free time, life, and hobbies.  In that case, I see where this may be an idea for improvement in society, but the truth is a hard cold thing and if this isn’t thought out in every aspect (financial, sociological, etc.) and planned accordingly, it could destroy us.  I think starting with having robots perform tasks where humans can coexist in the same workplace might be a start but it is going to take a lot of deep thought and planning to allow this to run smoothly.

 

 

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/30/16719092/automation-robots-jobs-global-800-million-forecast

Will robots and AI take your job? The economic and political consequences of automation

 

Text Wrestling

In the article, Should we Welcome Robot Teachers, written by Amanda J. C. Sharkey, she covers many aspects of the educational benefits provided by robots in the classroom setting.  She also discusses the negative sides of this predicament.  Since the early 2000s, there has been a constant debate all around the world on wether or not it is appropriate to involve robots in the field of childhood education.  In 2012, there was a survey in Europe which gave the public a chance to voice their opinion on robots being involved in their child’s education. 60% thought that they should be banned from childcare, 34% believed that it shouldn’t be involved in child education at all, and 3% supported it.  In my opinion, this could be because a lot of people are afraid of change and are closed minded to the benefits that could come with technology that encompasses human traits.  This idea has gotten a lot of negative feedback from the majority of the public.  

Sharkey continues to include a wider variety of examples where robots were introduced to different educational settings in various ways.  The most common experiments take place in Japan.  Most of the robots were brought in as peers and companions, but the most drastic experiment was held with a robot taking the place of the teacher.  The humanoid robot that they used to conduct this experiment was names Soya.  Soya was in fact human operated with a remote control to better the accuracy of the responses to students.  After they tested her out, researchers came to the conclusion that she had nothing but positive outcomes when introduced to the class setting.

Another experiment was conducted with a group of 18-24 month old children, mainly aimed towards studying the social interactions between the robot and the toddlers.  The toddlers loved the robot and some even formed long term bonds with the robot. “The researchers reported evidence of a 27 % improvement in 18–24 month toddlers’ knowledge of the target words taught by the robot as compared to a matched set of control words that were not taught.” Both of these experiments were successful, along with many others, but some weren’t so lucky.  An experiment conducted in 2014 resulted in no signs of improvements, boredom from students, and possible aggravation.  The robot seemed to be able to clearly deliver information to students, but in an uninteresting way, and may not have been thoroughly designed with it’s responses since it continued to give an explanation the child had already understood.

There are lots of concerns that come into play with the debate of including robots in the field of education and early childhood development. Three of the main concerns are privacy, deception, and loss of human contact.  With privacy, this can be a concern because a child could be interacting with the robot and giving it personal information.  Robots store this information in a drive which can be accessed by just about anyone which holds a serious issue to the safety of the child.  The robot’s deception can also cause issues with providing the child with the proper education that she or he requires.  Because a robot is not human and cannot sense full emotion from others, it can be difficult for it to react to the students as necessary.  Lastly, the bond between a student and their teacher plays a huge role in their learning and development.  Everyone has a few teachers that stick out in their memory among the others due to their bond and interactions in the classroom.  Human interaction is very crucial, especially in the early stages of childhood development and education and if this is not prominent, it can have negative affects on their psychological health in the future.

Sharkey’s point at the end of this article is clear, especially when she states, “First and foremost, children need to be taught by fellow human beings who understand them, care for them, and who form appropriate role models and attachment figures.”.  I really enjoyed reading this because she presents all the data you need to come up with your own view on this debate.  She is very unbiased throughout the entire article until you reach her conclusion.  Although some of the experiments do show progress and positive traits of robots being involved in education, I agree with Sharky, and believe that children must have a human teacher opposed to a robot.  If anything I believe that there could be some benefits to a robot used as a teaching assistant because it would draw more attention to the subject at hand.  With the robot as a teacher, I think that it can be a little bit of an issue, especially when it comes to classroom disputes, bullying, and students acting out.  There are benefits, but I see more cons than pros with a robot teacher.

Writing Exercise 2

Bottled water is becoming popular nowadays. Water from (the usual)  household faucet is old fashioned. People are consuming more bottled water than they used to even though they’re spending more money (on) for them. They can come from wells, springs, artesian wells or the municipal water supply. There isn’t much difference between bottled and tap water. The point is that bottled water is convenient. Their sales increased in the last few years because of its taste. A study (Birmingham University) showed that the participants which were 23 users of bottled water believed that bottled water are healthier, safer, cleaner and have a different taste. People expect bottled water to taste better, but there’s not much difference between the brands.

The idea of this paragraph is pretty good but it doesn’t go as deep as it could.  It doesn’t really spark a lot of attention other than the subject being explained having a relation to every day life. You could explain how the convenience of it now holds a higher priority than the money you’re spending.  It seems like the writer had voiced their opinion, especially in the last sentence, but didn’t put up quite as much as an argument that they could’ve.  They could’ve also used facts and references to back up the accuracy of their opinion. I do agree with this paragraph.  I am guilty of purchasing a bottle of water that might be just a dollar over another bottle just because the taste.  I think that this would’ve been pretty interesting if the author looked into researching why some people prefer different waters and refuse to drink different waters.  I feel like it definitely has something to do with the way the bottle appears, although, some waters vary in consistency and minerals.

Memoir Rough Draft – Objects With a Story

As a child, I was always thrilled to receive something that had been in my family for a while.  Even the simplest things such as vases and necklaces had so much meaning and it took people to give them that meaning.  Take my grandmother’s pin for instance.  She was given this pin when she was nine from her father.  It was a delicate golden lamb with two rubies placed in the eyes.  Once she placed the trinket in my palm, my eyes widened with amazement.  So many questions flew through my head.  Was there a meaning behind the lamb? Why did he give it to her? Was it passed down the family prior to it reaching my fingers?

As I ran my fingers along the coat rack at a small vintage store, a soft and silky texture caught my attention.  I instantly pushed aside the surrounding coats to get a better look.  Made up of a honey colored mink fur was the most luxurious coat I’ve ever seen.  I opened up the jacket and looked at the label which read “Cherry & Webb”.  This was a company that started out in downtown New Bedford, and after some research, I discovered that this stunning coat dates back to the 1930’s.  The interior was a golden silk with a name embroidered which read, Lydia Robinson.

Digging through a pile of clothes at another thrift store I found a tan jacket with a black label on the right of the chest which read, Members Only. This was another coat which I absolutely adored.  After I took it home I did some research to learn the background.  It was a staple for many in the 80’s, and in my opinion, it was timeless. The fabric was smooth and velvety, and once you put it on it hugged your body perfectly.  It also had a strap which buttoned right above the collar, around the neck.  Once I wore it for the first time, I went to open up the pocket and a handkerchief fell out.  I picked it up and observed it.  It was a clean white fabric folded up into a triangle and it had the letter “R” hand stitched in emerald green right on the corner.  Although it was gross to see an object such as this fall out (even though it was clean), I couldn’t help but to think of who owned this coat previously.  I wondered what he or she did for a living, when they got the jacket, and who personalized the handkerchief for them.

Throughout my life, I’ve had a habit of acquiring old items which are before my time.  I suppose you could call me a vintage hoarder, but not in the crazy sense where I have a trillion porcelain frogs taking up any empty space available in my house.  I purchase these things, or find them and keep them, because they have a story.  They once had a value and shared important moments with whomever owned them.  I find these objects interesting and completely unique.  I’ve always had an eye for anything out of the ordinary, and collecting and selling vintage clothing happens to be one of the most rewarding hobbies I have!

Show, Don’t Tell

This is my Writing Exercise 1: Four Sentences and a Scene

I live in a town which you could probably cover the entire ground of in just a matter of hours, but I found growing up in this quaint area very comforting.

The bold fuchsia lipstick and bright yellow earrings drew my attention to Lacy, giving me the idea she had an eccentric style.

I wouldn’t recommend taking a class taught by Mr. Brown because of his deluding lectures and inability to respect other’s views.

As I glanced into the barren room, I could feel the emptiness within, which drew nothing but chills up my spine.

Beauty

Waking up every morning was no longer an easy hop out of bed.  It was a whole workout all in one.  I could feel all the bones and muscles my body was composed of, aching and struggling to execute such a simple task.  Once this was accomplished, I staggered my way around my dated, plum colored cottage.  Peering into my powder room, I caught a glance at myself in the rustic mirror.  I nearly jumped. I could barely recognized myself.  I walked up to the porcelain sink and pressed my hips up against it to keep my balance. “Who is this woman?”, I asked myself. How did I turn into such a worn and tired version of what I once thought was a beautiful girl? Aging was always something I expected with time, but I never understood the reality of it until I saw it (and felt it ) myself.  Navigating my fingertips around my tired and leathery skin, I pulled at the areas surrounding my creased complexion, trying to get an image of the woman I was before I lost what I once saw as beauty. I’ve known that this is my appearance, but for some reason, I couldn’t come to terms with it.  I ran the faucet, splashing cold water on my face.  Reality was a hard pill to swallow. I heard a the beat of footsteps approaching behind me.  My husband shuffled into the room and held me close.  This man could read me like a book and he knew exactly what was eating at me.  “You know what caught my eye when I first met you?”, he asked me. “What would that be?”, I mumbled back as I ran my fingers through my golden hair.  “The warmth in your hazel eyes and the kindness in your winsome smile”, he replied.

A Little Bit About Me and My Views on Writing

After taking the time to read this article, I finally organized my thoughts and opinions about writing. It made me think back about writing and remember certain things that I wouldn’t have even thought about prior to reading it.  Writing has always been a part of my life, as it has been in just about everyone else’s.  Everyone has a different style of writing and use for it in day to day life.

When I was younger, I would write stories and practice different styles of writing for fun.  In some way it seems to be soothing.   Some of the styles that I practiced were personification, persuasive, and descriptive.  I always enjoyed writing fiction and my favorite way to do that was in first person.  I’ve never really liked writing in other personas because I feel as though it’s easier to submerge the reader in the story when they’re reading it in your view.  My main focus is making sure the reader is never bored and can completely understand the environment and scenario of a story to its fullest.

Nowadays, writing isn’t a common thing for me when it comes to free writing or stories in general.  I’m so busy with work and life itself that I don’t normally have the time to sit there with a pen and paper and pour out my thoughts.  On the rare occasion I pick up a pen and paper, it’s when I’m trying to organize my thoughts on how to solve a problem, or just a simple to do list.  I like to write my goals and how I plan on attaining them.  Lately I have been missing journaling and documenting moments in my life. Writing in a journal has always been very interesting to me because it allows me to put myself in my own shoes at a certain point of time and reminisce.  Writing is very important to me and helps keep me on task daily.  In my opinion, there is no greater way to grow and solve issues without taking the time to think everything through.  When it comes to thinking I feel like my thoughts are always scattered all over the place and I need to put them all in front of me on paper to organize them.  This helps me when it comes to decision making and allows me to be more confident in my choice of action.