If chefs cannot obtain effective intellectual protection for their recipes, how can they beat robots armed with AI?

Sir, Sarah O’Connor writes: “The risks to workers from ever smarter computers are clear, but the opportunities will lie in maximising the value of their human skills. For some people, such as talented chefs, the battle is already won.” “Machines do not have to be the enemy” November 1.

Oh boy, is she not a romantic? How on earth will individual chefs survive against robots and AI, unless it is for those few the 1% of the 1% is able and willing to pay for their human artisan cuisine creations protected by patents?

That “In most jobs, people combine cognitive skills with other human abilities: physical movement; vision; common sense; compassion; craftsmanship… that computers cannot match”, that unfortunately sounds like wishful thinking.

Much better is it if we accept that robots and AI can supplant us humans, in way too many ways, and instead look for ways how they should be able to work better for all humanity. And in this respect she is right, "machines are not the enemy".

I say this because since many years I have held that we do need to prepare decent and worthy unemployments, in order to better confront a possible structural unemployment, and without which our social fabrics would break down completely. Capisci?

That might begin by taxing the robots so at least humans can compete on equal terms.

Of course a totally different world might be out there in the future, but I can’t but to stand firmly on my western civilization’s stepping-stones, those that got me to where I am.

@PerKurowski

The right of an unemployed to find a job, even if the job is not that satisfactory, does it not count for anything?

Sir, you agree with the “Taylor report” that in order to pay Uber drivers the statutory minimum wage entitlements, these should be paid with “adjusted piece-rates such that an employee working averagely hard earns at or above the minimum wage level”, “A judicious adjustment to the gig economy” July 12.

Really? Is that an incentive for an Uber driver to work more or less than average?

What will, what must happen, is that a lot of not really interested in earning a lot drivers will be asked by some out-of-workers-to-represent unionist, to sign up to Uber by those who want to earn more, so as to get those work averages down.

If any Uber driver works, and is not satisfied with his earnings, then he can always go and work someplace else for a minimum wage.

Sir, why do you agree with artificially raising the bar for people to reach up to the gig-economy? Is it not better to instead of raising minimum wages to start thinking about implementing a universal basic income that could function as a convenient step stool to help people reach up to the gig-economy?

When are you to wake up to the fact that as much as we need to think about the rights of the employed, we must think of the rights of the unemployed to at least work somehow?

Does it really have to be all or nothing? Don’t forget that besides jobs we will also need worthy and decent full or partial unemployments.

Sir look around, have you not noticed that many of those who would not use regular taxies, are now calling up Uber drivers? Does that not mean anything? You really want us to go back to how it was?

@PerKurowski

Why has society ignored for so long the structural unemployment that is already here, and that will grow so much worse?

Sir, Sarah O’Connor does all of us an immense favor putting forward data such as “America’s unemployment rate may be close to the lowest in a decade at 4.8 per cent [but] the rising share of people in their prime years (between 25 and 54) who are neither working nor looking for work, now stands at about 20 per cent” “‘Jobs for the boys’ is just half the story in America” February 7.

History is sure going to analyze the question of how a generation that prides itself from having so much knowledge and information at its disposal, could have turned such a totally blind eye to one of the greatest challenges it faces, namely the structural unemployment caused by robots and automation.

Where can we find data about how much robots and automation have substituted for human jobs and salaries, year by year, during for instance the last 20 years? It might exist, but I certainly have not found it.

In 2012, having been worried for quite some time about this issue I wrote an Op-Ed titled “We need worthy and decent unemployments”. But only quite recently are possible remedies to a real inexistence of jobs surfacing into public debate, like that of a Universal Basic Income. Though much too late that is good. Nonetheless the “whys” or the “how comes” of all social blindness to this issue, needs also to be studied.

PS. Why is there no concern with that humans have to so unfairly compete for jobs with robots that are not handicapped by having to carry weights like payroll taxes?

PS. Just like the “whys” or the “how comes” about the silence on stupid bank regulations, based on the silly notion that what is perceived as risky is more dangerous to the bank system than what is perceived as safe, needs to be studied.

@PerKurowski