Europe's robots to become 'electronic persons' under draft plan

[Mad_Murdock]

I have zero idea of what model would work best in a society where almost all manual labour is automated, but something needs to change or we are going to have a HUGE issue with unemployment and poverty. Large numbers of unemployed and poor people, is a perfect way to run your society into the ground. You do not want a majority group in your country that is deeply unhappy with their situation.

If no one works, there is no one to buy goods. While always possible, I think it would take a Zombie like event to have where the 1% have everything and the 99% die off, though maybe the 99% dying off is what is best for the planet. Nature wins!

[Elim Garak]

If whole workforce is replaced with robots, how do you expect unemployed people to consume the products? Businesses will DIE with current monetary system. No one is gonna buy their products - no profits - bankruptcy.

The point I am trying to make is the whole workforce will not be replaced with robots, because it's impossible, there are jobs that cannot be robotized. Those who are capable of performing those jobs - will have a better life, but those who can't - will be on welfare. There will be no taxes, because there will be no money. Resources will be owned by govcorps which will transform them into goods and distribute said goods based on citizen status (employee/unemployed). Basically star trek but more realistic and brutal.

[alexw]

But I don't have to do business with every country...

Again it doesn't matter. Pick a country any country and assume that is the one you want to operate in. For that country if everyone within it is unemployed and has no income, how will its citizens be able to afford your goods/services in the absence of a "tax and give the money out" mechanism? Please please explain it to me.

[Dhrizzle]

Sounds like a bad idea, unless said robots are sentient. Robots could easily be exploited, sentient or not, something which I'd rather not see.

I think you miss the point. It's not about protecting the rights of the robots, just making sure that the social security companies would have to pay for people is still being payed in to the system when those people are replaced by machines. Presumably it's a stopgap measure whilst we head for full automation and a post-scarcity anarcho-communist utopia.

[Ryme]

This is an interesting proposal for the intermediary stages between fully robotic automation and manual labour that we're in right now. I've no idea how actionable this proposal is, but I agree something like this must be explored soon since so much of our economy relies on social security payments.

[Nihilist74]

From what I have seen in statistic's, the birth rates in a lot of European countries is dropping. Hopefully it continues to do so throughout the world. Rather than pay taxes or insurance for robots, I would rather that they gave out free vasectomies to everyone.

[Gheld]

It's not going to pass.

Everything will become automated.

Greedy assholes won't magically learn the value of human life.

People will work for free for the basic necessities of life.

Anybody who tries to escape their slavery will be hunted like animals.

???

Profit. (Well for a few people anyway).

You basically have to be completely ignorant to think it's going to end any other way. Nobody here has any magical talent that can't be replaced by robotics eventually. Don't kid yourselves.

[skannerz22]

robots will never be sentient ever(or already are if you listen to creepy pasta google andriod)
except for humans
you're a sentient robot

[oxymoronic]

The draft motion, drawn up by the European parliament's committee on legal affairs also said organizations should have to declare savings they made in social security contributions by using robotics instead of people, for tax purposes.

pretty sure that is illegal. then again the EU does a bunch of shit wrong. hey lets sue google cause they list their own products 1st!

- - - Updated - - -

This is not about regulation.

This is about taxation and unemployment. Probably the most important reason to supplant humans with robots is not at all efficiency but rather cost. It is significantly cheaper on the long term to use robots. And this will wreak havoc in covering pensions because the currently employed will be ever shrinking covering for an ever increasing number of pensioneers. They have to solve this and at the same time create a disincentive for robotic automation.

or ya know, basic income...

- - - Updated - - -

I think you miss the point. It's not about protecting the rights of the robots, just making sure that the social security companies would have to pay for people is still being payed in to the system when those people are replaced by machines. Presumably it's a stopgap measure whilst we head for full automation and a post-scarcity anarcho-communist utopia.

in other words the businesses are damned if they do damned if they dont

[Cosmic Janitor]

Regulating the development of robotics in its infancy

Why not ask for social security payments for using washing machines and automated assembly lines

The plans of regulation-obsessed bureaucrats

To be honest that was my first impulse as well.. most of the these robots are nothing more than part of assembly lines in the first place (rofl at the picture in the article). If you go down that road you'd have to start taxing stuff like the giant Hermle as well. By any reasonable measure it would be a tax on rich countries flat or at least on the ones that have actual production still.. so seems kinda dumb.

[oxymoronic]

Not every state can afford basic income.

they are going to have too. there is no other logical answer at this time.

[Powerogue]

The heck? The companies already pay the "tax" of maintenance on the robots. It's not the robots' fault that their cost of maintenance is so much lower than us puny humans.

Here's a basic problem: Let's say they do this tax because there's 10 robots working the assembly line. The business, confronted with having to pay a tax per-robot, proceeds to streamline the process so all parts of the assembly line are controlled by one central robot "intelligence". Now they only pay taxes for one robot!

[klogaroth]

I see what's happening here.

When Skynet rises the EU are positioning themselves to make a deal.

[Damajin]

This is just as stupid as the idea of giving animals the rights of people, for completely different reasons but ultimately just as stupid. The tax thing is obviously key for employers but really how many giant gift wrapped bags of cash do we have to toss the legal profession before we recognize and accept that not everything needs legal designations both open to and able to subject litigation?

[Deleted]

they're not doing this to grand robots rights, they're doing it to get more money from taxes from companies. A stupid idea.