The University of Oxford researcher casts a somber picture at the industrial hub of the United States. Known as the Belt of Rust – cities such as Flint, Detroit, and Cleveland have previously spearheaded growth by the manufacturing sector. Dr. Frey said workers in these cities were being beaten by robotic technology. So what would happen if machines replaced us?
Advantages of Robotic Technology
If workers lose their jobs, they will not pay taxes and in most western countries they will be able to claim unemployment benefits. This weighs heavily on the state. In the US, 48% of federal income comes from personal income taxes, and 35% comes from social insurance taxes – only 9% comes from corporate taxes.
To cover the shortfall in income from income tax, many parties support the imposition of a tax on robots.
Resistance to Robot Technology
In 2013, Dr. Frey estimated that nearly 50% of jobs in the US were at risk in the next 30 years due to advances in AI and robotic technology. Among these are industrial sector jobs, legal administration, and truck drivers.
“We are going to see resistance to automation, as we have seen with globalization. Truck drivers cannot be transferred to China, but these jobs can be replaced by machines,” said Frey.
Tax
Two years ago, billionaire, philanthropist, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates pitched the idea of a robot tax in an interview with Quartz magazine.
“There are taxes associated with automation. Right now, a human worker who earns $50,000 in a factory is going to be subject to income tax, social benefits tax, all that stuff. If robots did the same thing, you’d think we’d be taxing robots.” on the same level,” Gates said.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also supports the taxation of robots. The basics are simple: robots are taxed and the funds are used to finance health care and education.
Business Goals
“You don’t have to physically invent robots. You can apply for automation taxes. Fewer-employed businesses should be looked after. At the same time the government should reduce labor taxes,” said Ryan Abbott, professor of law and healthcare at the University of Surrey, UK.
He proposes a tax on human-like robots – Abbott refers to the growing use of AI. Proponents of the tax say the additional income could help fund skills programs.
This Robotic Technology Eliminates Many Jobs
But large-scale job losses have yet to occur and the future isn’t that bleak. While Carl Frey remains supportive of his 2013 forecast. A project PwC created last year shows that in the UK, job losses due to automation can be replaced by the creation of new jobs. The sports of cricket and football now use technology related to important decisions that were previously made by referees. The use of technology helps improve the quality of decision-making. But this does not make the referees redundant, because of the creation of additional technician work. However, the loss of jobs in factories is a different case.