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Nebula_Zero t1_ja82emi wrote

Reply to comment by canadianpastafarian in Their future is AI, not ours. by [deleted]

The robot arm robot from Boston dynamics already is replacing jobs at DHL. It is using AI to run because it is adapting to real world objects and can handle stuff dynamically. Not explicitly just AI since it's a robot too but it is already replacing jobs, not just changing work.

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canadianpastafarian t1_ja82rt3 wrote

I just mean that I don't think robot arms and chatbots are the same issue. It is related though clearly.

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Psychomadeye t1_ja85yc3 wrote

Correlation engines will replace work like the steam engine replaced work. DHL is going to find that maintaining those machines is in the long run more expensive unless they've got some seriously fancy tricks up their sleeve.

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Nebula_Zero t1_ja8vkj0 wrote

I doubt maintaining the robot arm would be expensive. The issue with automation right now is the entry cost doesn't justify replacing a worker but as wages for workers keeps going up, as do the cost of benefits and the costs from them taking days off and bathroom breaks, the robot becomes cheaper. The price of the robot will also lower over time. I also really doubt DHL just bought the robot arms with it just being a money sink, they wouldn't do it if they didn't think it would save them money.

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Psychomadeye t1_ja973sc wrote

No, they won't lower over time and those bearings and motors and reductions are extremely expensive for a reason. They are difficult to make.

>I also really doubt DHL just bought the robot arms with it just being a money sink, they wouldn't do it if they didn't think it would save them money.

It's probably not about saving money as much as it is about throughput. The engineers they'll have to bring on to maintain them, plus the cost in parts and power is going to cost more. Their hope is that they can take on more contracts because of this.

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