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Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

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Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> qualifier " for low skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector" For most of the people whose main reason for voting for Brexit was immigration's effects on jobs, these are the jobs that they seem the immigrants as competition for. The theory is that the immigrants were willing to work for less so "stole" the menial, mind-numbing, often physical, & sometimes seasonal jobs. Having a number of such complainers in my fam…

I have the opposite reaction to this. The open borders crowd has been insistent that Western nations don't have enough poor people to work low skilled jobs, so they argue we need to import them in mass from other countries. But, as you said, if the robots work out cheaper over a short enough amount of time then it is logical we will not to continue with virtually unlimited immigration.

´What unlimited immigration?

Do you have numbers to support that claim?

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#33

The tech necessary to replace front line service workers is not there. If it was we'd all be buying one to use as a domestic servant/slave. The robots in the article are more assembly line types, what happens when someone spills a coffee in some place 'unexpected', customer wants a custom frappadappalappachino instead of the regular drink, or something needs to be moved out of reach some customer needs help in a mill…

You can replace 5 out of 6, probably. Leave 1 as a customer service agent, and they handle all the special cases.

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably. A question though, what would these locals and young be doing if migrants did those jobs?

Education, so that they could get one of those jobs which will be moved back to the EU now.

> one of those jobs which will be moved back to the EU now

Can you cite any examples of a job that moved /from/ the EU to the UK, and which will now /move back/?

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#37
post #21
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I understand UK visa rules correctly, getting a work permit as someone who designs or develops tech for robots is as easy as getting a job offer from a company that wants you to design or develop tech for robots for them.

Yes, but: 1.) This doesn't help startups -- only large companies that can afford to go through the expensive and laborious visa-permit process. 2.) As a foreign worker, since your residency depends on employment, you're in a far worse bargaining position vis-a-vis salaries, so this depresses worker wages, however much the government tries to enforce the requirement that foreign workers are paid at prevailing wages. 3…

It's almost as if the system was designed to give UK citizens advantage over you.

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#38
It could, but this could happen to anybody anywhere in the world where low skilled work that matches the current crop of industrial robots skills is being done. It's mostly a matter of a one time capital expense or a lease agreement versus an extra employee on the books. And most of those jobs have already been automated, we're on the tail end of that until the next generation automation based on the present avalanche of developments comes on stream.

And that will have impact on a totally different level than the previous one which took many decades to complete.

So, nothing to do with brexit, nor with migrants.

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#39
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the opposite reaction to this. The open borders crowd has been insistent that Western nations don't have enough poor people to work low skilled jobs, so they argue we need to import them in mass from other countries. But, as you said, if the robots work out cheaper over a short enough amount of time then it is logical we will not to continue with virtually unlimited immigration.

´What unlimited immigration? Do you have numbers to support that claim?

I said "virtually unlimited." Try not deliberately taking me out context next time.

Re: Brexit Britain Could Replace Migrants with Robots

#40

It could, but this could happen to anybody anywhere in the world where low skilled work that matches the current crop of industrial robots skills is being done. It's mostly a matter of a one time capital expense or a lease agreement versus an extra employee on the books. And most of those jobs have already been automated, we're on the tail end of that until the next generation automation based on the present avalanch…

Fear of immigrants taking jobs is one thing driving these nationalist movements. A lot of people supported Brexit on the belief that it would open more jobs for natives, the same way people here in the US think building a wall and kicking all the brown people out will bring jobs back.

But it's silly. What hasn't been automated will be once they have to choose between paying legal citizens and stepping up plans to automate.

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