RE: My Response to the Atlantic's The Curse of Econ 101
In my opinion, the main reason that many fast food restaurants and other service based industries have chosen not to employ their automation yet is simply because of their fear of public backlash. Once a major chain makes the switch i believe many of the others will follow.
If we were to see an increased minimum wage put into effect than I believe that all of the service jobs would quickly switch over to a much more automated system, therefore eliminating a majority of the jobs at that pay rate.
The major fast food establishments already have the technology to support a much more automated system, but most have not employed full scale automation yet.
It's sad to say but many of the vocal and avid advocates of these types of laws are the same people who are bound to be negatively impacted by these types of laws in the long term.
That's a very interesting point. Once one does it, the others will have to in order to stay competitive or else they'll face the wrath of their share holders. And I agree, those complaining the most are going to have a heck of a lot more to complain about if they get their way. This is why I think we'll need to have some kind of UBI... It's either that or people rioting in the streets because they can't feed their families.
Labour laws (at least in Europe) make is so that automation cannot make up more than X% for your workforce. That being said, when the inevitable happens, incentives and programs will need to be set up to assist people transitioning.
If we can free peoples time up and couple that with access to resources- wow! Innovation will soar!