Bruce Krasting On Paul Krugman's Epihany

Via Business Insider:

What’s dawning on PK is that his vision of the future does not take into proper consideration the role that technology has today, and will play in the future, on labor employment. What he’s looking at is a structural change; one that can’t be altered. He’s coming to the conclusion that Social Security doesn’t “work” when there are not enough workers paying into the scheme. This is a remarkable conclusion from the most liberal economist out there.

Move on a few days and PK does some more deep thinking. He now realizes that the current expectations for future revenue for SS are unrealistic. He knows that the lines will cross more quickly than is now anticipated. He understands that this is a here-and-now problem, but he also has grasped that this is also a 75-year problem. So he comes up with a plan; simple yet elegant. He wants to tax the robots.

Bruce Krasting On Paul Krugman's Epihany - Business Insider

Points:

• “PK has observed, for the first time in his economic career, the simple fact that technology has reduced the role of labor in the economy.”
• “I don’t think that PK really believes that taxing investments in manufacturing technology is a good idea. The fact is, it’s a terrible idea, and PK knows it. If you want an economy to grow, and be globally competitive, you create incentives (tax breaks) for capital investment; you don’t create disincentives. Period.”
• “The villain is technology that reduces the long-term demand for labor. His solution, not surprisingly, is more taxes. But there is not a chance in 100 of taxes on capital investments to support SS (nor should there be).”

Some interesting points made, but the general tone directed against Paul Krugman makes the short essay seems a bit over the top.

Laws for driverless cars: Who is responsible for crashes and traffic violations?

Via Slate:

Still unclear, even with these early adopters, is the precise responsibility of the human user, assuming one exists. Must the "drivers" remain vigilant, their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road? If not, what are they allowed to do inside, or outside, the vehicle? Under Nevada law, the person who tells a self-driving vehicle to drive becomes its driver. Unlike the driver of an ordinary vehicle, that person may send text messages. However, they may not "drive" drunk—even if sitting in a bar while the car is self-parking. Broadening the practical and economic appeal of self-driving vehicles may require releasing their human users from many of the current legal duties of driving.

Laws for driverless cars: Who is responsible for crashes and traffic violations. - Slate Magazine

Points:

• “…we have time to figure out some of the truly futuristic legal questions: How do you ticket a robot? Who should pay? And can it play (or drive) by different rules of the road?”
• “…legal issues related to disclosure, consent, and ownership will mix with important policy questions about the costs and benefits of data sharing.”
• “…what happens when things go wrong—or at least not as right as they might?”

Some reading about technology and the law in print and electronic formats:

Will a Robot Take Your Job?

Via The New Yorker:

Slowly, but surely, robots (and virtual ’bots that exist only as software) are taking over our jobs; according to one back-of-the-envelope projection, in ninety years “70 percent of today’s occupations will likewise be replaced by automation.” Should we be worried?

Will a Robot Take Your Job? : The New Yorker

Points:

• “Kevin Kelly, “senior maverick” at Wired magazine, and source for the above guestimate, says we shouldn’t. Instead, argues Kelly, in a Utopian piece titled “Better than Human,” we should welcome our new robot overlords.”
• “…over the last decade throughout the economy, there has been a drop in the employment-to-population ratio and a drop in median wages, and many of the people who lost jobs couldn’t find new ones that paid as well as the ones that they lost.”
• “But there is no causal mechanism, physical, economic, sociological, or legal, that guarantees that new jobs will always come into existence.”
• “Anything that can be automated will, but where we can create new things, there still may be a niche for us to fill.”

Books and authors mentioned in the article (print and electronic formats):

15 Things overachievers do

Via Penelope Trunk, a list for your new year: 15 Things overachievers do | Penelope Trunk Blog. Based on the comments, some items on the list might be counterintuitive or contrarian.

In the grand tradition of self-improvement lists like George Washington’s, Benjamin Franklin’s, and the Book of Proverbs.

This Air Force Is Replacing All Of This Unit's Fighter Jets With Unmanned Drones

Via Business Insider:

…all 21 F-16s at the Iowa National Guard's 132nd Fighter Wing will be replaced with an unnamed type of pilotless drone.

This Air Force Is Replacing All Of This Unit's Fighter Jets With Unmanned Drones - Business Insider

It won’t affect just the US Air Force. Your future is arriving at Mach speed.

10 awesome android uses and apps

10 awesome android uses and apps: A set of apps shared by Richard Byrne at NCTIES 2012.

Dr. Oz On The Future Of Medicine

Via Business Insider:

Dr. Oz believes that technology and advancements in design and functionality of everyday objects will play a great part in the future of health and medicine.

Dr. Oz On The Future Of Medicine - Business Insider

Watch the video in case you were wondering.