The shape of jobs in the US and around the world it’s changing rapidly. On 11/5/2017 NBC News reported:
Self-driving trucks
One year ago this week a truck rolled into history as it traveled from a Colorado brewing plant to a warehouse 120 miles away carrying 45,000 cans of Budweiser beer. The early morning run was done using a truck developed by a start-up called Otto, now an Uber subsidiary. Though there was a specialist seated in the truck’s sleeper berth to monitor things along the way, there was no driver behind the wheel.
The ultimate goal for many freight-haulers is to take humans out of the truck entirely. Proponents cite a wide range of advantages, including reductions in traffic congestion and a significant improvement in highway safety.
There’s also a financial carrot, said CAR’s Cole. “A long-haul driver is limited in the number of hours they can drive before taking a break,” but a robotic truck can operate pretty much 24/7 – and without claiming a paycheck at the end of the week.
See the NBC News report here
Other notes about the changing structure of work are here:
- A Note on Jobs & Unemployment – December 27, 2016
- The Gig Economy in the Academy – a note – December 29, 2016
- Globalization Taking American Hi-Tech Jobs – IBM example – October 1, 2017
- Jobs, Automation, Walmart, and Globalization – low skill, low pay jobs disappearing – October 30, 2017
