Why Truck Drivers Could Be The First Casualties Of The Robot Age

Self-driving trucks make so much sense already that it’s a scary time to be one of the millions of Americans who depends on the trucking economy.

There are 3.5 million truck drivers in America, 5.2 million people who have non-driving roles in the trucking industry, and millions more who depend on trucking for a living, including people who work at truck stops and gas stations. Why is this important particularly? Because that’s an awful lot of people who depend on an industry that’s likely to employ far less people in the future.

This future is already upon us. Trucks are already going autonomous. Just this May, Daimler launched the “Inspiration Truck,” the first self-driving 18-wheeler licensed to be tested on the open road. Other manufacturers are working on similar products, notably Volvo, which has tested “platooning,” a practice in which groups of unmanned vehicles are led by one lead vehicle. Also, truckers are relatively expensive, earning an average of $40,000 a year, which makes their jobs a juicy target for automation. And, trucks often drive on long, relatively empty roads, which makes them easier to automate than vehicles that have to navigate city environments.

The idea that robots could take away jobs from large numbers of Americans seems theoretical until you consider actual jobs that could be threatened in one industry like trucking. Then, it all becomes a lot more scary. “We are facing the decimation of entire small town economies, a disruption the likes of which we haven’t seen since the construction of the interstate highway system itself bypassed entire towns,” says New Orleans writer Scott Santens, in a recent post on Medium.

Santens brings together a lot of evidence to back up his claim, starting with the fact that truck driving is the biggest source of employment is more than half of U.S. states.

The Latest on: Robots and jobs

[google_news title=”” keyword=”robots and jobs” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]

via Google News

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk Says Future of Autonomous Cars is Nigh

The Latest on: Robots and jobs

As AI Helps Veteran Workers Do Their Jobs, Who Will Train the Young Employees?
on July 26, 2024 at 7:00 am
Simply put, the way we’re handling AI is keeping young workers from learning skills. For more than 12 years, I have been studying how work changes as a result of intelligent tec ...
Bloomberg Businessweek: Jobs, Robots, Sun Protection
on July 26, 2024 at 4:23 am
Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec bring together the latest news from the world of business and finance and the interesting stories.
Aescape’s massage robot is poised to totally change the spa industry
on July 25, 2024 at 7:30 am
Robotic massage company Aescape, which promises “the world’s most advanced massage,” wants to be Uber for back rubs: An easy-to-book and affordable experience.
Machines might not take your job. But they could make it worse
on July 25, 2024 at 6:57 am
If machines can add purpose to some jobs when they fail, what about when they work properly? This is not an idle question. Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) in particular easily get lost ...
How a Davidson College grad created his own robots business, then leaned into AI
on July 25, 2024 at 5:32 am
After graduating in 2018 with degrees in economics and Spanish, Ashur began building robots full-time in the garage of his rental home in Charlotte, founding a company he called Lucid Bots Inc. The ...
Elon Musk says Tesla will begin using humanoid robots in 2025
on July 24, 2024 at 7:00 am
CEO Elon Musk posted to X on Monday, July 22, that his Texas-based company will start producing and using humanoid robots in 2025.
This Charlotte company is making AI robots to do America's toughest jobs
on July 24, 2024 at 5:41 am
In a quiet industrial park in Charlotte, a small company is building drones and robots to revolutionize the American blue-collar workforce. And soon, those robots will be artificially intelligent. Why ...
Could AI robots with lasers make herbicides — and farm workers — obsolete?
on July 22, 2024 at 3:00 am
A shift from harmful herbicides to intelligent robots would have far-reaching consequences for California's $50-billion agriculture industry.
CARMEN the robot companion can help boost your memory and cognition
on July 20, 2024 at 3:00 am
CARMEN, a tabletop robot designed by researchers at the University of California San Diego, can help those with mild cognitive impairment improve their mental skills from their homes.
Amazon just extended these robot vacuum Prime Day deals, but likely not for long
on July 18, 2024 at 9:41 am
Here's a self-emptying robot vacuum and mop combo that has a 60-day capacity. It offers a runtime up to 180 minutes per charge and uses LiDAR navigation to map out your home to provide maximum ...