According to thinktank Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in Japan by 2025, helping to avert worker shortages as the country's population shrinks. The country faces a 16 percent slide in the size of its workforce by 2030 while the number of elderly will mushroom, the government estimates, raising worries about who will do the work in a country unused to, and unwilling to contemplate, large-scale immigration. Luckily, robots could help fill the gaps, ranging from microsized capsules that detect lesions to high-tech vacuum cleaners.
"Seniors are pushing back their retirement until they are 65 years old, day care centers are being built so that more women can work during the day, and there is a move to increase the quota of foreign laborers. But none of these can beat the shrinking workforce," said Takao Kobayashi, who worked on the study. The current fertility rate is 1.3 babies per woman, far below the level needed to maintain the population, while the government estimates that 40 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2055, raising concerns about who will look after the greying population.
View: Full Story at Reuters
"Seniors are pushing back their retirement until they are 65 years old, day care centers are being built so that more women can work during the day, and there is a move to increase the quota of foreign laborers. But none of these can beat the shrinking workforce," said Takao Kobayashi, who worked on the study. The current fertility rate is 1.3 babies per woman, far below the level needed to maintain the population, while the government estimates that 40 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2055, raising concerns about who will look after the greying population.
View: Full Story at Reuters
Patlabor
Gundam
The possibilities are endless
What I find funny though is that Japan has low reproduction rates while China has laws on making babies.
They don't care, as long as those companies make more money...
Robots are needed in many places, no doubt about it.
Robots are needed in many places, no doubt about it.
Now if only we could get them to replace politicians. Think of it: machines doing only what they're programmed to do with little intelligence to make any real decisions. Sounds just like government officials! Not to mention the money we'll save, minus the regular maintenance for them.
Robots are needed in many places, no doubt about it.
Now if only we could get them to replace politicians. Think of it: machines doing only what they're programmed to do with little intelligence to make any real decisions. Sounds just like government officials! Not to mention the money we'll save, minus the regular maintenance for them.
But, like real politicians, we have to worry about the people controlling them.
Edit: And with the government's track record on computer security, odds are you would just load up a web page, enter "admin" and "password", And you'd have complete control over the robots.
Long-term-wise you are completely wrong, if machines permanently put people out of jobs our ancestors would would have been homeless centuries ago and we would have starved during the industrial revolution. Using your logic we would still spend hours rubbing two sticks together to create fire, as the invention of a lighter would mean that the firestarter would loose his job.
If robots did 99% of the work in a country it would be A LOT BETTER OFF. The only reason we don't have to get children to work any more is because of machines have made us more efficient. yes putting machines into a factory will displace people for a while but over time they get reabsorbed into new jobs.
If one manufacturer gets a new machine he gets more profit for a short while, but soon his competitors buy the same machines to match his price, and they force the price of the products down through competition, making the goods cheeper for everyone so we all become better off.
Lets do a deal with the Japanese, they take our lazy and tongue tied and we will take a 70 inch HDTV each in return for free.
Everyones a winner.
Once again...
Long-term-wise you are completely wrong, if machines permanently put people out of jobs our ancestors would would have been homeless centuries ago and we would have starved during the industrial revolution. Using your logic we would still spend hours rubbing two sticks together to create fire, as the invention of a lighter would mean that the firestarter would loose his job.
If robots did 99% of the work in a country it would be A LOT BETTER OFF. The only reason we don't have to get children to work any more is because of machines have made us more efficient. yes putting machines into a factory will displace people for a while but over time they get reabsorbed into new jobs.
If one manufacturer gets a new machine he gets more profit for a short while, but soon his competitors buy the same machines to match his price, and they force the price of the products down through competition, making the goods cheeper for everyone so we all become better off.
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