Bots, Drones and Driverless Cars

Creation of jobs is a promise that every political party makes to its voters. This is so all over the world and no political philosophy is an exception to this. Creation of jobs apparently refers to creation of additional jobs and thereby increasing the number of jobs already available. The discussion and focus on jobs has gone beyond this in the last few years. There is a heated discussion on preservation of existing jobs. Communities are happy if the existing jobs are protected and pink slips (an euphemism for job loss) are avoided or at least reduced. There are arm twisting rules and regulations in many countries that force employers to ensure intake of local workforce. There are instances of people working in other parts of the world thinking of and actually doing "homecoming"; getting back to their own countries for good. More capable and talented workers are able to job hop or start their own start-ups. The average level workers are struggling between job searches and job losses. Younger generation is indeed facing a crisis situation. Unemployment was a big problem forty years ago. Growth of service sector ensured that there was some job, even if economists called it underemployment, for anyone who wanted to work. It appears the cycle is complete and unemployment is again taking center stage.

The heading in a newspaper screams that Bots have taken over 12,000 jobs in just one company, WIPRO. A recent report in a newspaper mentioned that work done by Robs is on the increase and more and more categories of work are taken over by them. Robs is the short form for "Robots". They are also called "Bots". Whether Robs or Bots, even half the name is sending shivers down the spine of employees in big companies. It is not known whether SMS language has reduced "Robots" to "Robs" or they are called so due to their robbing of human jobs. Job losses estimates due to deployment of robots instead of humans differ from one source to another. It may probably require a sophisticated robot to come up with the exact number of jobs that will be lost due to deployment of robots. One calculation believes that 50 million jobs will be lost globally due to robot deployment in the next five years. Indian IT industry alone fears loss of several million jobs due to various factors, one of them being use of robots for basic jobs. IT minister denies that there will be loss of jobs. He states that the fears are exaggerated. But doyens of IT industry are clearly lamenting about job losses due to higher level of automation. Growth of IT industry brought in informal culture, calling first names and T-shirts into office atmosphere. It led the dissolution of trade union movement in various industries by making them irrelevant. Today, there is talk of formation of unions in IT industry to protect the jobs and emoluments!

Robots are already doing their jobs in many spheres of life. They are said to be leading in 21 different areas of production and servicing units. Surgical robots have performed over two million procedures so far and the number is increasing day by day. They are able to do their jobs with perfect motions and without emotions. Retail sales, security, journalism, receptionist, telephone sales, construction work, accounting, tour guides, librarians and teachers around us could be robots. Make no mistake, we are not talking about sales people, receptionists and tour guides who behave like robots. We are indeed talking about real robs here. Cow milking robots are deployed in animal farms. The milk we used in the morning could have been milked by a robot, processed by a robot and packed by another robot before being sold by yet another robot. 

A study by McKinsey & Company suggests that robots will eliminate some categories of jobs altogether. But more than that it will affect portions of almost all jobs to some extent. Health care and finance are among the sectors to be affected most. Job content and focus is also changing. A finance director who worked more on arithmetical calculations four decades ago is now working on financial strategy and investment. More than 75% of predictable work and nearly 25% of unpredictable physical work will be taken over by robots during the next ten years. Robots are already working around us without our realizing their presence. Many robots do not move and hence the illusion. Coffee vending machines and self-service kiosks are indeed an extension of robots stealing human jobs. Routine customer problems are also solved by robots. A higher level of intervention is still in human domain. Advancement in robotics may lead to a day when robots themselves create further robots!

ComputerWeekly.com predicts that in future humans will find themselves working side by side with robots, rather than being completely replaced. Due to growth in robotics in cognitive computing and computer tasks, some jobs will disappear but some other new categories of jobs will be created. Soft-skill professionals are now conducting human relations programs and leadership skills program to build human teams. They may have to now branch out and design programs on human-robotic relationship and building men-robots teams. Laws may have to be amended to bring in dealing with robots at work place and regulating human-robot interactions.

Drones (unmanned moving objects including small airplanes) are becoming more and more common in commercial and defense usage. Amazon mentioned about use of Drones for delivery of items to customer doorsteps within 30 minutes of order, four years ago. China is already using it and its drones are delivering boxes to customers at their doors. You need not be surprised if a drone with a parcel flies on your head when you are walking on the road there. A day may come when an item delivered by a drone may be received at your home by your robot assistant, cooked by another robot to be served by a third robot.

Driverless cars or autonomous cars are the next in-things. They are already around us in test conditions. We are told that driverless cars will be around us shortly. The only impediment is that humans have to develop confidence in such cars. It is indeed a pleasure for many to go to sleep when someone else is driving. A day may come when one can get all the sleep for the day while traveling in a driverless car! Cars with cruise control are already in use for over a decade now. Driverless cars are coming in different levels. After cruise control, next would be hands-on cars which give warnings but do not have control on the cars. Such cars are already in use. They give a warning noise when the car comes close to another moving vehicle. The next generation cars will be hands-off cars, where the driver need not hold the controls, but can take over when the need arises. Next would be Eyes-off cars that would enable the driver to take off his eyes from the road while the car keeps moving as usual. Mind-off cars would be the ultimate ones. A couple who had a fight at home may get into to the car and continue their fight without bothering about traffic rules and on-coming vehicles. It may not end there. Flying cars may come that drive on the road but fly in case of traffic jams. Only they could cost more!

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Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a famous novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was published 130 years ago. Dr Jekyll discovers a serum by drinking which he gets converted to a evil character by name Mr Hyde. Initially this transformation is temporary and reversible. But it becomes regular and ultimately irreversible after some time. Dr Jekyll disappears and Mr Hyde's crimes and murders increase. One of the ingredients used for preparing the serum is exhausted. Further purchases of the item used in serum preparation do not work. Finally Dr Jekyll commits suicide to bring an end to Mr Hyde.

Frankenstein is another story written by English author Mary Shelley. She wrote the story when she was only 18 years old. The book was first published exactly 200 years ago. It deals with the story of Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster in an unorthodox scientific experiment. The story deals with the evil acts of the creature, also known as Frankenstein, in the same name as its creator. The evil creature harasses its creator and kills his newly-wed wife. The creator also dies while trying to kill the creature. The end is indeed tragic.  

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Creation of these Robots, Drones and Driverless cars may help improve quality of life. They may also bring misery in the form of job losses and sorrow due to their misbehavior in due course. Whether they would be the next generation Mr Hyde or Frankenstein, only future can tell.  Creation of something which the creator cannot control is dealt in many scriptures and literature of different languages. Bhasmasura is a well know character in Indian mythology. He got the boon of burning anything or anybody by merely placing his hand on the head. After getting the boon from Lord Shiva, he wanted to test its effect first on Lord Shiva himself! Mohini had to intervene and prevent the disaster.

The picture given at the top of this post is indeed self-explanatory. Man-created robots may ultimately control its creator. Whether there would be a Mohini to save that day is a secret shrouded in the future.

I am ready with the tools, Sir

Living in own house has its advantages in comparison to life in a rented house. There are many physical benefits in addition to emotional comforts. There is no problem of the searching scrutiny of the landlord, especially if he or she is living in another part of the building. Lady of the house can go on buying whatever she wants as there is no problem associated with packing and movement while changing houses. Rented house is not our property; taking proper care of the building or not can reflect on our values and culture. If this is ignored, there is no problem of maintenance. However, living in own house has its disadvantages too. Even small problems cause more mental tension. The biggest disadvantage is that the problem cannot be transferred to the landlord and denies the pleasure of reminding him repeatedly till it is redressed. On the other hand, if the lady of the house is reminding of the problem repeatedly, intensity of the pain can only increase! The quantity and quality of problems increase as the building ages and becomes old. The troubles are confounded as we would also have aged with the building.

We had one such trouble some years ago. Rodents had made home rather unauthorizedly in the sewerage lines of the house. They had neither obtained permission for settling there nor paying rent, but living and multiplying comfortably. There were disciplined enough not to trespass into the house and fortunately there was no problem inside the house. But the sewerage lines were blocked and water flow was disrupted. It is difficult to find workers to handle these types of issues. Finally one person was located. He came, dug up the entire length of the lines, removed the heaps of muds deposited by the bandicoots and cleared the way. My presence was required throughout the action and he needed support by providing buckets, mugs, pouring water and checking the flow, answering his questions etc. He took a lunch break in the middle of the work and went away for two hours. I could neither go out on other errands nor relax at home as it was not known when he would come back. After he was finally done with the job, water was flowing freely. He said that the lines are to be got covered by someone else as he does not do that type of jobs. The sewerage lines were now left open and could not be left that way for long for well-known reasons. Another person was found for covering the lines, after much efforts. He arrived at his convenience and needed money for cement and bricks before start of the work. Items were bought and work was started, but he said the quantity of cement was insufficient and needed more money for additional purchase. He finished the job, charged more than what was agreed and was about to leave. When asked to clean the surroundings, he said it could be got done by our domestic help on the next day.

The problem of blocked drains returned after one month. The person found for solving it started by advising me that the earlier worker had done a horrible job and hence the problem has returned. He was told to complete the entire work up to cleaning stage. He found co-workers and ran a fat bill. Other troubles in getting the work done were the same like unscheduled lunch and tea breaks, asking for help and observing water flows etc. At last the work was completed but the problem returned after one month. When I mentioned about the problem to friends and relatives, each of them said they had faced similar problems. There is lot of comfort in sharing such problems with friends and relatives. Some of their tales made me feel better because their ordeals were much worse. One friend even said that he had to get a part of the wall re-done because the water was flowing into the foundation after repairs, instead of the sewerage main lines outside the house. Ultimately I had to find the solution myself. I got the entire line replaced using strong pipes instead of brick and cement masonry work. Thankfully the problem has not returned. The bandicoots are probably still learning about penetrating those strong pipes.

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My host here in USA had some issues with his house and needed some help to address them. He told me that the worker would come at 11 AM and I was requested to get the jobs done as he would be away on some other work at that time. I reluctantly agreed and braced myself for the ordeal in the light of my earlier experiences. The items for fixing and repair included a small leak in the roof, clearing clogged drains and repairs to the glass doors. A car stopped in front of the house five minutes before 11 AM. The driver waited for five minutes and rang the bell at exactly 11 AM. He asked me to advise the jobs to be done and show the spots. Once it was done, he inspected the problem areas  and said that there were two more issues that required fixing which we were not aware. He showed the spots and suggested that it be got done now or else the problems may aggravate during snowfall. He wanted to know the opening loft position in the house to enable him to reach the ceiling to fix the leak. We said that there is no such loft inside the house. He insisted that the houses have such an arrangement as he knew layout and structure of such houses. He identified the loft, went in it and made a final inspection. He said he would be back on the next day with the required material, at the same time.

He arrived promptly at the appointed time. He wanted to start the work. Out of courtesy, I asked whether he needed any support from me. My host had shown me the tool room in his backyard and I thought some tools lying there could be handy. "I am ready with the tools, Sir", he said looking at his mini truck parked in front of the house. "I have all the items and chemicals required for the jobs as well", he said and proceeded with his work. There were no breaks in the middle of his working. He used a collapsible ladder that was mounted on the truck for climbing over the house. The 15 feet folded steel ladder was extended to about 80 feet for reaching the top of the house. At the end of his work, he collapsed it to its original size and mounted again on the truck, all by himself. I was looking expectantly that my help may be called for holding the ladder, but there was no such request. 

He had identified the tools required for the various components of the work and ready with them at the start of the work. The tool kit had a collection of all tools for every conceivable application available in it. Required material was also kept ready in a bag. What was more impressive was the approach to the work.  He had waste cloth ready with him in his kit for spreading on the ground before placing the small ladder and tools on the floor inside the house, to prevent scratches on the floor and smudges on the carpet. At the end of his work, he cleaned all parts, removed the old screws and nails, shingles that were removed while repairing the ceiling etc. and carried them into a dust bin in his truck. There was no need for any cleaning to be done by the maid on the next day. 

I was now concerned about the amount to be paid for the work done. He said he would send an invoice by mail. The mail duly arrived and my host took care of it. I was advised that the final bill was less than what my host had anticipated. The bill had breakup of items used, inspection charges and service charges. The whole episode was a pleasant one. It was an example of professionalism at its best.

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This is not to suggest that all experiences are either as good or as bad as above. There are good experiences as well as bad ones, everywhere. There is scope for planning and display of professionalism in all walks of life. That is what sets apart good workers from the mediocre ones. This also shows the importance of proper training as well as imparting and acquiring necessary skills in various walks of life.  

   

It is a pleasure to work with those........

Perry Mason stories have thrilled millions of readers the world over for decades. There are claims that the series is the most widely read in history. The TV serial series on Perry Mason's case are still popular and being shown even today. Only regret is that the characters of Perry mason, Della Street and Paul Drake are nowhere near the description we get in the books themselves. The actors have acted quite well in the episodes, we have to concede. These stories have fascinated generations of readers. In each and every case, somewhere in the many pages of suspense and intrigue, there is always a peculiar principle of law. There are also some truths of life and some analysis of human behavior by a trained mind. No surprise, E S Gardner's "Court of last resort" could establish innocence of many convicts. "The case of the Howling Dog"was made a movie as early as in 1934.

Among the many cases is one by name "Case of the Mythical Monkeys".  Mason suggests in the courtroom for matching the finger print of a witness, Mrs Joseph Manly, with one found in the scene of the crime to solve the murder mystery. Lt. Arthur Tragg is in the witness chair, being cross examined by Perry Mason in the court of Judge Arvis Bagby.  Mrs Manly, sitting in the court room starts running away from the court. At this point, I quote from the book:

Lt. Arthur Tragg half arose, then settled back in his chair.

"Aren't you going to follow that woman and bring her back?" Judge Bagby demanded indignantly of Lt. Tragg.

"Not right away,"  Tragg said, with a slow drawl.  
"and may I ask why not?"

"Well, it's like she said,"  Lt. Tragg observed, "the fingerprints in the cabin proves she was lying, but that's all. But her flight is evidence that the district attorney can use in case against her when he's trying her for murder.  So if she is foolish enough to resort to flight, I'll give her a good start before I catch her."

Slowly the look of annoyance on Judge Bagby's face was replaced by a smile. "It is always a pleasure to watch a really efficient officer at work,"he said.

We meet dozens of people at work every day. Some give us a sense of calm of security and comfort when they handle our issues. We feel we are in safe hands. But many leave us with goose bumps. Some grasp our requirements pretty fast and some others drive us crazy. Some are efficiency personified while some others are down right incompetent. We have often recall "Peter's Principle"and understand that we are dealing with incompetent officials. Officials who can quote ten rules to tell you why your job cannot be done. But the same job is done ten times by another official, and well within the same rules.

If we go to a school and ask young kids "What is apple?",  they are more likely to say that it is a company founded by Steve Jobs. "Apple is a fruit" could be the second best answer. Steve Jobs was a man who knew his job. He was more than that. He was a visionary. His dreams were not for himself, but for a generation of people. 56 years is not an age to die. He looked more and more frail in the last few years.  But the vision appeared to become stronger each day. "For those of us lucky enough to work with Steve, it was an insanely great honour..........." said Bill Gates in his tribute. "Had the pleasure of working for him and knowing him. he was our Edison"said actor-writer-director Albert Brooks.

"Design is just not what it looks like and feels like Design is how it works." are his famous words. And his products at apple worked.  Long after similar products bought elsewhere stopped working. Many of us did not know him personally. We did not have the pleasure of working with him. But we did have the pleasure of working with the products he pioneered.  It was a pleasure to work with him for thousands. It was and still is a pleasure to work with the products of Apple for millions.

 As Judge Bagby said in the "Case of Mythical Monkeys , it is always indeed a pleasure to watch an efficient officer at work.  It is indeed a pleasure to work with  those who know their jobs.  Especially for those, who do not know theirs, we may as well add.