We'll Always Have Paris .....

        From The Copy Desk: The sadness we feel for the loss of Notre Dame de Paris cannot dampen our joy for having been witnesses ... all things must pass. The singing throng around the pyre reconsecrates the ground. 

Working Humans

     From The Copy Desk: Warren was calmer, but still upset. It had taken Marty a long time to convince him that John Hiatt was kidding and was not planning any trips to western Pennsylvania - indeed to Punxsutawney - to shoot Phil. Wintertime Blues is, however, a great song. The threats of violence are near the end of the song.





     "It's been a harrowing afternoon for both of us," Marty said. "You're like the damsel in "Jukebox Music" by The Kinks, 'and you believe the stories are real. You let the music dictate the way that you feel.'"
     Warren, still breathing slowly into the brown paper bag Marty gave him, wondered about this exact point, "But if a happy song makes me happy isn't it the same thing," he asked his now distracted brother.
     "Where did the remote disappear to this time Warren," Marty said. "There it is, we should watch some football."
     Firing up the DVR, Marty picked a Bundesliga game from the list of Premier League, Champions League and various UEFA games. "I understand Bayern is struggling this year and may not even win the title for once, that would make me happy," Marty said. "Just try not to get too extreme over stuff. Life is short, try to spend your time doing useful things."
     "What, like those career-minded humans there on the screen. It looks to me like T-Mobile has hired some 'voke' to perform at this game as pixels," Warren said. "Go back and freeze the DVR."

T-Mobile pixels at work in Allianz Arena.

     "Wow, humans deployed in the crowd as pixels, good work if you can get it I suppose, they look like great seats," Marty said. "I wonder what the compensation for this work might be ...... just a ticket to the game and a white Devo suit to wear or actual Euros as well."

     "Remember, this is Germany," Warren said. "There's probably an impressive apprenticeship program for these jobs. Standing training, care of the Devo suit and how to be a good upstanding T-Mobile pixel."

  "Very funny. This isn't robots replacing humans, but of humans doing robots' work," Marty said. "This runs agains the trend, usually humans lose jobs. This drive to automate everything should be resisted it could help a lot of 'voke' with their livelihoods."

     Putting down the paper bag for good now, Warren took a deep breath before saying, "So you think we should resist the onslaught of the machines, in little ways when we can."

    "That's right halph-bro," Marty said. "Now comes the bit where he pontificates a bit .... "

     From The Copy Desk: Indeed, still sore from sitting on our soapbox for too long yesterday, it is that time. If enough people around here sign up for the pharmacy robots to mail your meds, the kid who grew up down the road and went to pharmacy school won't have job in her hometown anymore.

     Does somebody still have to handle all those checks we write instead of letting the all the banks, utilities and other friendly corporations electronically take the money. We hope so.

Simpler Times

     From The Copy Desk: The Boys have been yearning for things the way they used to be .... for example 5.1/4% interest on your passbook savings account and they could afford to hire many, many humans to collect and count the money. 

     Warren was hoping for so much more, but alas there it was ...... now he has to deal with it. "I hate dealing with ATMs, robots and 'interfaces' - where are the humans who used to serve us," Warren shouted at the locked glass door of the now-closed bank. "How are we going to access Marty's DARPA pension money now."
     Returning home, Warren had already figured out what Marty was going to say about banks, robots, the financial 'industry,' AI and the eventual obsolescence of humans. Even the climate seems to be against them, and like marmots, it's expected that underground living (sounds like a future magazine title) will become normal for humanity.

The Boys watching a favorite show.

     So Warren wandered off into the burrow and joined Marty watching one of their favorite TV shows, which thanks to the DVR-robot they can now enjoy any time. "Some things are way better with this technology and these robots," Marty said. "But indeed there is a substantial dark side," Marty added.
     "You remember that story about the plutocrats lounging in the Alps plotting to replace all their workers with either AI or robots. It was pretty disturbing. Or the report from the federal reserve that I saw a few weeks ago, or was it Brookings, that forecast which occupations face the most job losses."
     Warren couldn't resist and chimed in ..... "I remember that one, it was Brookings Institution. I liked the metro area data set. It was phun."

A robot?

 

 From The Copy Desk: Warren is, of course, easily amused. He liked the metro area map because when you mouse over the cities, balloons pop up. Warren really, really likes balloons.

     "As for the robots, don't get too down on them," Marty said. "It's not the fault of the soul-less machines, but rather the aforementioned plutocrats. Lots of people are very angry about the way things are going, but many of them are mad at the wrong people. Who got all the benefit of the last big tax cut, not the everyday Joe ..... "
     "Do some people have different names for different days," Warren interrupted, "Yet some people just use the same name every day, making them an everyday ..... Bob or whatever?"
      Marty continued on, " .... six-pack. That's not how it worked out. I'll show you which people benefited the most from the last Republic Party tax give-away .....

Mr. Burns.

     From The Copy Desk: The small picture above is hardly a robot.