34: Robots for All!

After last week's suggestion that the robots are indeed coming, the Priority team considers them more broadly: what does increasing automation mean for our work? Caitie embraces automation: Google Calendar, systematic emails, and prompts that keep her world in order. But Max suggests that his long-hand project management isn't tedious, per se, by comparison. Maybe it's more thoughtful, forcing him to slow down when he considers his work. So the robots have their perks and limitations, but the team wonders whether and how automation might stymie growth. If we don't have to pay attention to certain skills, what will happen to them? And our jobs? Okay, so the robots are already here, but perhaps we can figure out how to live in peace with these not-so-futuristic friends.​

After last week's suggestion that the robots are indeed coming, the Priority team considers them more broadly: what does increasing automation mean for our work?

Caitie embraces automation: Google Calendar, systematic emails, and prompts that keep her world in order. But Max suggests that his long-hand project management isn't tedious, per se, by comparison. Maybe it's more thoughtful, forcing him to slow down when he considers his work. 

So the robots have their perks and limitations, but the team wonders whether and how automation might stymie growth. If we don't have to pay attention to certain skills, what will happen to them? And our jobs? Okay, so the robots are already here, but perhaps we can figure out how to live in peace with these not-so-futuristic friends.

Links: 

"Rise of the Machine-Generated Citations" by Lee Skallerup Bessette | Inside Higher Ed

List of Style Guide Abbreviations | Wikipedia

The Glass Cage: Automation and Us by Nicholas Carr | Amazon

Spell Checker | Wikipedia

"How to Stop Your Phone from Autocorrecting to 'Ducking' Once and For All" by Dave Stopera | BuzzFeed

Scrambled Text | Brain HQ

Priority Episode No. 33: "Because Future." | Previous Episode

William Gibson | Wikipedia

William Gibson's "Blue Ant" Trilogy: Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, Zero History | Amazon

"Five Fast Email Productivity Tips" by Merlin Mann | 43 Folders

Arc Customizeable Notebook | M by Staples

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen | Amazon

Habituation | Wikipedia

Robot or Not Episode No. 2: "Service Kiosks" | The Incomparable Podcast Network

"Retail Jobs Are Disappearing as Shoppers Adjust to Self-Service" by Alana Semuels | The LA Times

An Introduction to Mathematics by Alfred North Whitehead | WikiQuote

Plagiarism Detection | Wikipedia

Karl Marx | Wikipedia

Roderick on the Line Episode No. 170 "The Wilder Universe" | Podcast Episode