While there is an element of hysteria in this article, I too find the American fascination with automating *everything* disturbing. However, I find it disturbing for an additional reason.
First off, I agree that it seems that no one has really thought this automation thing through. I still think the author of this essay is a little over the top, but I wonder what's going to happen to the people in this country that lack the intelligence and skills to do anything but low wage jobs here as we autmate everything.
This may tag me as some kind of Luddite, but I find it appalling that people can't wait to excise as much human contact from their lives as possible. I know people that would rather eat nails than actually have to go to the bank for three whole minutes. No one's time is really that important, is it?
One answer is that the "three minutes" you mention do not include the fifteen to thirty minutes waiting in line for everyone else to do their three minutes' worth before you get your chance to do your three minutes' worth. Add that to the time required to drive to the bank during lunch hour when everyone else and his brother is also trying to drive to the bank to do his three minutes' worth during the same lunch hour, and some people would indeed rather eat nails, or at least decide that having their paycheck direct depositedı into their account and getting cash when they need some from an ATM is a better use of their time than going through the above process every (weekly/semimonthly/monthly/whatever) payday.
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ıAlso, some employers now no longer give you a choice of getting a paper paycheck and taking it to the bank and standing in line (or idling in line at the drive-thru), but will only pay you through direct deposit into your bank account. While convenient, this also can cause problems if they screw up something and that ends up screwing up your bank account.
--Ronn! :)
I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle
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