Labor Machines And The Future Of Labour

The article ‘Rise of the Machines’ is Not a Likely Future (2015), Michael Littman addresses the issue and worries that people have with regards to technology. The article attempts to persuade readers to believe that there is no need to fear technology as it is just not possible that they can overtake humanity. Zeynep Tufekci touches on the issue of machines taking over jobs of human, titled “The Machines are Coming (2015)”. She attempts to argue that there is no need to reject or blame technology for taking over jobs at the workplace. Littman’s argument is stronger than Tufekci as he provided logical reasoning due to a well balanced structure with consideration of opposable viewpoints with substantial evidence and effective usage of Pathos to appeal to the reader. Tufecki’s argument is weak due to the lack of evidence and her claim was only brought in at the end of her article which makes it seem very lop-sided.

In Nicholas Carr’s essay “All Can Be Lost: The Risk of Putting Our Knowledge in the Hands of Machine’s” he brings up the ethical problem of technology. Technology is all around today, but people are starting to wonder if this surplus of technology is starting to make the world less smart. Carr’s primary argument is as technology becomes more prevalent, people are losing knowledge to do certain tasks. Carr claims this is bad because people are putting their lives at risk and dying due to this lack of knowledge. People are starting to get lazier because of technology. They start to care less and think they are gaining something extra by using the technology, when, in fact it is the exact opposite. Carr states, “most of us want to believe that automation frees us to spend our time on higher pursuits but doesn’t otherwise alter the way we behave or think. That view is a fallacy” (5). This fallacy is affecting how people think and how current children are being taught in schools. Children as young as preschoolers are now starting to use tablets and computers for learning instead of having a teacher doing their job fully and actually teaching them. Instead of adding something to a task or helping to get it accomplished technology, “alters the character of the entire task, including the roles, attitudes, and skills of the people taking part” (5). Throughout his entire essay, Carr argues mostly why he believes too much technology could be harmful in the long run, but also states

We invented machines to fulfill our necessities. As machines get smarter in the 21th century, we give machines more permissions and freedom to do more things for us. However, the new generations that are born with all the advanced technologies they needed don’t quite understanding the use of machines as we are more relying on them. The machines are quickly expanding and replacing our brains and bodies even it is a simple task to do. But if we step back a little and think that we are the inventors of these modern machines. Are we scare of machines taking over our societies or is it just our fear and curiosity that tricked us? Well, we now cannot live without machines. Human and machine are bonded together tightly that we can’t identify who we really are. We become cyborg which is a more accurate term to describe who we are now.

“In 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of 16” (Yellowitz, http://www.history.com/topics/child-labor). For years people have gone back and forth on whether or not labor unions are actually beneficial to workers or if unions are harmful to the economy. Labor unions first started popping up as early as 1794 and started catching on in the 1880s with the introduction of The Knights of Labor. (Staff, http://www.history.com/topics/knights-of-labor) Unions grew in response to terrible working conditions, long hours, zero benefits, very low wages, and child labor. The opponents of labor unions were around even before then. When the industrial age began and people started moving to the cities, many employers took advantage of the high numbers of people in search for work and treated them more as numbers and expendable machines than people. The workers maybe got enough to live on after working for most of the day, everyday, for most of their lives. Even the children had to work those same hours instead of enjoying their childhood. The flip side to all of that is that the economy expanded and there were many people who got rich through that system. Overall, labor unions were extremely beneficial not only to American workers but also to the American economy because they improved working conditions, eliminated child labor, and because the more money workers received, the more money they spent and put back into the economy.

The Labor Movement was necessary to protect the common interest of workers. The state of working environments during the Industrial Revolution produced a mandate for this movement. The Industrial Revolution served as a turning point for all western nations because of the influx of businesses and factories. America generally benefited from the revolution; however, it was at the expense of the workers. Industries were only interested in profit so workers were generally underpaid, worked long hours, and in unsafe conditions. Working conditions during the revolution were generally dreadful. And since there were copious amounts of people willing to work for any compensation, employers could set wages as low as they wanted. Labor unions arose because there were many who disagreed with how big businesses ran. A prime objective of labor unions is to make sure its members are paid fairly. Labor activists believe that employees and the company share its successes and that they should be rewarded for its productivity. Labor unions want to improve working conditions for their members. They demand reasonable working days along with safe working environments. Also, labor unions provide more than just job security and safety services. These services include provision of education and training to inform union members of their employment rights and to improve their basic skills. Labor unions are a group of employees who organize to provide a balance in negotiations between management and the

To continue observing labor's vitality in society, one must understand the philosophy that goes into working. The trait of work ethic is a defining characteristic of many nations, including America, and is widely believed to create their success. In 1971, President Richard Nixon presented a speech in which he states,” That is the inner drive that for two centuries has made the American working man unique to the world”(Nixon 1). He spoke to the nation on Labor Day, reminding the public that their work continues to benefit America, even after the wars of the previous decade. Furthermore, there is the constant need for labor in most societies, fueling their revolutions, and also making the unemployment of some deplorable. An iconic example would

Labor is not a simple construct. It is made up of a multitude of people with unique background and traits. While these people worked hard, it was not always easy to be treated justly. Many important events arose along labor’s growth in the United States encompassing identifiers such as race, class and gender. These different areas are an integral part of labor and will continue to be. Most of these identities overlap at certain points but it is worth mentioning them separately as each individual aspect of labor contributed a substantial amount to further the progress of labor within the United States even through the most difficult times. Gender, Race, and Class have played an important part in shaping U.S Labor history.

This fundamental shift from the producer-oriented economies of the 18th and 19th centuries to a consumption driven economy marked a turning point in the history of American society. The Industrial Revolution had much to do with the transformation of the economy into one which thrived on a capitalistic, consumer-driven market.

“Builders eventually took advantage of the look of modernism to build cheaply and carelessly. Arthur Erickson,” Before man created the all holy machines that run your life today america was a different place. Horse & buggies, ox driven plows and the old 5 o'clock wake up call to milk them cows are no longer what drive our daily lives. Man as a whole is becoming dependent on machines and technology even for the littlest thing in life like your smartphones and even your electric toothbrush that now sits on almost every bathroom counter in america. I believe that technology and machines are great things but we need to realize as a race that machines are not something we should depend on. One solar flare or emp blast and the next thing we know

No one should have to go through what these workers go through every single day to keep a living. They get no time off or anytime to take a break and wash up, yet there expected to work their hardest until they can’t anymore. In The Jungle you can imagine all these workers covered in blood, impatiently waiting to go home, not wanting to keep going, but having to, and you think to yourself, why do they do it? These workers have no choice but to work to make money, and no one else care if they are suffering or getting weaker and weaker. “The Chain Never Stops” indicates the working society today and how it still occurs. Workers in the slaughterhouses have such a high chance of getting injured by being around all the knives, conveyor belts, and

In Christian Fuchs’ (2014) Digital Labor and Karl Marx, the second chapter, “An Introduction to Karl Marx’s Theory,” focuses on the meaning of digital work and labor from the perspective of what Marx defines work and labor are in the first place, while the fourth chapter, “Dallas Smythe and Audience Labor Today,” argues the importance of Dallas Smythe for his influence on commercialization and commodification through Marxist theory. In “An Introduction to Karl Marx’s Theory,” Fuchs’ (2014) main argument stems from The German Ideology by Marx and Engels which states that, “work is a conscious productive activity that transforms and organizes nature so that humans produce their means of subsistence in order to satisfy human needs, which constitutes the production of material life itself” (p. 25). Labor is

After over fifteen years of telecom experience, which included climbing cellular towers, sweating in the heat, freezing in the cold, and working over 60 hours a week with little to no appreciation while spending weeks away from family and friends all came down to one final phone call. It was July of 2016; I was in the Virginia Mountains, and the air felt heavy enough to cut with a knife. I was working for a company where I have known the owner of for over eight years and I had thought that the Project Manager was a close personal friend of mine. The owner had originally asked me to come on board to bring some leadership and if possible, make the second crew profitable. Not long after I had joined the company, the owner confided in me that the PM (my close friend) had been struggling with the main duty of his position: accurately quoting jobs to maximize profitability. Over the course of several weeks the boss became more and more frustrated with the project manager due to a lack of progress - or maybe a lack of desire to come up with an alternative solution to his inability to quote jobs accurately. At this point the owner approached me with a possible resolution, in the event that the project manager was terminated; could I find profitable work, and would I be able to carry out his responsibilities? I thought it over and explained that I understood his position, but in the end I declined. I didn’t appreciate the situation he was putting me:

In this paper, I will discuss labor as an agent of production and the differences of productive labor and unproductive labor. Labor condition will capture slavery to the wages in economy. The labor production has tailored for human use, to use to an operations or positions. When it came to making bread, labor for the baker was equal to the labor for the miller which make the produced for the baker? When it comes to employment for substance such as corn, flour and wheat involves more than one state. Productive operations required the production of corn and wheat from the field. Transporting the product from one town to another add another level to productive labor. Under the production umbrella there are five mode to discuss. First is Labor that produces materials for industry, which industry is to be thereafter utilized. Labor for mine , who digs the substance of the earth to find coal, coal later to be produce as material of production to run such things as trains. Remember coal is a precious stone, just like a diamond which is use for more than jewelry but can also cut glass. Second is Labor that employed in making tools and install for help of labor. For example the manufacturer of an ax to assist the labor of cutting down tree. There are a few things as materials, which might use to a second and a third time, yet not while in used first contributed remain in existence. The iron which shaped a tank or melted into frame a steam engine. Third is Labor that employed itself

Trade unions have played a crucial role in developing a democratic society in terms of monitoring and enforcement in the areas of wages and employment conditions. (Landau et al 2014, ????) It has been argued that the Industrial Commission gave Australia both political and competitive advantage and provided both members and non-members, significant workplace gains throughout most of the 20th century. (Ref)

The massive migration and settlement by Europeans in the 15th century to the Americas happened mainly because of the lack of economic structure, continuous wars and religious conflicts. Many looked to the New World as a land of opportunity and prosperity. Social beliefs of racial superiority and fear of losing power entrenched the minds of Europeans over the years. The potential to net large sums of profit in the new economy and the greediness of the elite caused the need for long-lasting labor force. Whether it was indigenous labor, indentured servitude or other forms of labor, the American colonists were unable to sustain these types of labor and thus created a more racially segregated labor system through African slavery.