Welcome To The Machines: Chinese Factories To Drastically Outnumber Human Workers With Robots

Robot bartenders.  Robot chefs.  Teachable robots in industry.  Yes, robots might be a little bit poised to take over the world.  And now, China isn't even trying to hide it...

Even your computer science degree is nothing, next to an actual computer.
(Image courtesy bloomberg.com.)

According to io6.com, China is now focusing on making its notoriously high-output factories devoid of human handiwork.  Due to rising labor costs and shortage of workers, the "smart factories" have been gaining appeal in certain areas.

You may be seeing these signs less and less.
(Image courtesy andrewmcafee.org.)

Coupled with "robot assembly lines", factories are expecting to make massive cuts to their human labor forces.  One factory predicts that they will be able to eliminate 90% of their living, breathing workers, cutting down from 2,000 employees to a mere 200 (to run the robots and handle administrative tasks.  Even robots don't like dealing with customer service or some of the other more delicate tasks of industry.)

"...And then I told H-97tron that her dials looked hot, and she filed a complaint with Robot Resources!  Damn robroads."
(Image courtesy themachines.gawker.com.)

In the Guangdong province alone, several thousands of factories have considered rolling out robot fleets to lend a hand (claw...whatever.)  Let's not pretend that's not a call to competition.  China has always churned out cheap goods as fast as the world's dollars can fly at them, but now, they can do it round-the-clock, and even cheaper.  Will the rest of the world robo-tize to compete?

Is NO human labor better than slave labor?

Well, now you can write that book you always wanted to...so what if you're starving, it's good inspiration!
(Image courtesy paleofuture.gizmodo.com.)