Wait — Robots Work But I Get Paid

By KIM BELLARD We’re not through the COVID-19 pandemic.  We’re probably not even near the end of the beginning yet.  That hasn’t stopped many pundits to start speculating about how our society (and our healthcare system) are likely to be permanently changed as a result, such as continued reliance on telecommuting and telemedicine.   OK, I’ll play too: I believe we need to greatly expand the role of robots, and begin something that resembles Universal Basic Income (UBI).  They’re not the only changes that may result, but they are two that should. Robots We’ve been seeing robots infiltrating the workforce for many decades, such as in manufacturing but also in many other industries.  Still, though, as our economy pares down to “essential businesses” during the pandemic, I’ve been alarmed at how many of the jobs remain done by humans.  Not just healthcare workers on the front lines but also all those people doing the cleaning for essential businesses, all those people in the supply chain of food and other vital materials, all those people making deliveries, all those first responders, all those people all those people keeping the power on, the water running, and the internet streaming, among others.  And so on. We’re already seeing reports of positive tests for COVID-19 in grocery workers, Amazon employees,  meatpacking worke...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: COVID-19 Health Tech Kim Bellard robots Source Type: blogs