Why is Alexa, the
Google-enabled home assistant, female? It might be because we associate “home
work” and personal assistance with women.
This type of technology is at the
heart of a labor dispute that is boiling over on the Vegas strip between 40
casinos and unions who represent hotel housekeepers, food servers, wait
staff, bartenders and the like. Many of these jobs, coincidentally, are
female-dominated.
The Jetsons, a satirical
cartoon series from the 1960s, fully envisioned this with Rosie, the household
robot. Rosie did housework, some parenting, and even handed out pills to the
Jetson family. By the way, she was female.
We are ever closer to that reality (see "Dreamer" above, developed for wide-purpose work at the University of Texas lab on humanoid robotics).
Wait staff can be replaced with kiosks and tablets at our restaurant tables. Vacuum cleaners were automated some time ago. The front desk staff can be cut in half or more with check-in procedures that give you a computer code to your pre-paid room. In effect, the technology that allowed us to check ourselves out at a grocery store can be modified for service in Vegas and elsewhere.
Wait staff can be replaced with kiosks and tablets at our restaurant tables. Vacuum cleaners were automated some time ago. The front desk staff can be cut in half or more with check-in procedures that give you a computer code to your pre-paid room. In effect, the technology that allowed us to check ourselves out at a grocery store can be modified for service in Vegas and elsewhere.
Geoconda Argüello-Kline is the Secretary-Treasurer
for the Culinary Union. She says, “A strike is a last resort. We support
innovations that improve jobs, but we oppose automation when it only destroys
jobs. Our industry must innovate without losing the human touch.”
What about male labor—can it be
automated? It’s already happening. Welders are overwhelming male. Industrial
welders are a vanishing breed, replaced by ever more sophisticated robots in
factories.
Oh my gosh, I better get back to work!
This robotic professor, called Prof. Einstein, is pushing for my job! He's smarter than me (having a "vast intellect"), and is programmed with funny anecdotes and exaggerated expressions. Plus, he is much cheaper than me over the long haul. Some of today's teenagers might relate to a humanoid professor better than a human professor.
So, I'm hoping the unions win out in Vegas. They're fighting for themselves-- but the principle of preserving jobs touches on our lives.
So, I'm hoping the unions win out in Vegas. They're fighting for themselves-- but the principle of preserving jobs touches on our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment