Automated Truck Driving & Its Impact on the Economy
Automated truck driving is not something we think about every day. But it could very well be very important for our economy in the future.
The reasoning behind this is simple: trucks are an essential part of trading goods, and we will not be able to replace them for a long time. However, as technology advances, traditional trucks will become old technology, and the next logical step in their evolution is self-driving trucks.
"No technology will automate away more jobs–or drive more economic efficiency–than the driverless truck,” says Kevin Jones, Chief Editor of The American Trucker.
Another technology being developed is the truck platoon. These are fully automated trucks that follow closely behind a human lead driver and create chains of vehicles to increase efficiency. These trucks combine the aerodynamic efficiencies of tailgating, with the safety benefits of automated vehicles.
These new technological advancements seem very interesting and complex, but the main issue with this is that thousands if not millions of people will lose their jobs, and they won't have anything to replace them. Driving trucks is quite a unique job, yet it is very expensive for employers to keep them employed. It would be much cheaper to purchase a one-time expensive AI machine rather than having to pay for a truck driver's wages as well as paying for their mistakes on the road. AI will have much less error than a human driver and this would be an obvious economic decision for the employer.
When this new era comes, which will be very soon, what will we do? How will this affect unemployment rates, and how will this affect the economy? What can we do to make this better?
https://www.trucker.com/blog/robots-out-get-truckers-jobs-tech-guru-says-time-nigh
Nice post Jamsheed, I completely agree with you in that AI will have a significant impact on the job market in the near future. In the case of automated trucks, I think you're right in that the truck drivers losing their jobs will have a hard time finding replacement jobs. As automation occurs across various different industries, unemployment rates will skyrocket, hurting the overall economy and worsening the wealth gap.
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