An MIT Technology Review blog comments on “Race Against the Machine”, a book about robots and how they might change our thinking about employment (or unemployment) in the future.  This might seem like an old topic, since many classic movies, tv episodes, and science fiction novels have already examined the subject, but the recent reality that robots are competing for middle class jobs requires new analysis.  While I haven’t read “Race Against the Machine”, I have commented recently on Robot Careers.

In my story “A Floccinaucinihilipilificatious Life” little Floccin leads a perhaps not-too-far-in-the-future team of repair bots.

Until such time that robots can repair themselves, could it be time to get a job in robot repair?

Are robots entitled to a career?  Computerworld today published an article called “10 Careers Robots Are Taking From You.”

My story “Like Mother, Like Son” in my e-book “Science Fiction: Robots & Cyborgs“ concerns a related issue asking whether certain robots are entitled to be part of your family.

As an engineer, I think that IBM Researcher’s “very small” movie, “A Boy and His Atom,” is an amazing accomplishment.  Would scientists in the early 1900′s have believed that in 2013 researchers could control and position carbon atoms such that an animated movie could be created?

As a science fiction writer, I try to imagine what new inventions will show up in the future and what consequences might occur.  Seeing the IBM movie, I started thinking, “What’s going on?”  After all, we’re made up of atoms, just like that movie was made with cameras that are made up of atoms.  What does it mean for an atom to be placed in a set position?  Though we have proven we can control some atoms — at least for a time — I suspect there is much more to learn about them before my question can be answered.

The Scientist magazine reports on communications going on between microbes and cells.  In another article they refer to “biology’s communications networks.”  We are learning more every day about our microbiome.

We think we are learning how to control the tiny things in the world around us, generating energy, storage, and computing power with their coerced assistance.  But as a science fiction writer, I have to wonder if in the future we’ll find out that the tiny things have been controlling us.

What’s coming to the office next?  Computerworld has an interesting article about the “Consumerization of IT.”  Unisys has done three annual reports on this topic, the most recent one (Nov. 2012 video below) conducted by Forrester Consulting.  When I see these kinds of articles and reports, I sometimes wonder if there is an agenda — such as getting more tablets and smartphones and other new devices into the workplace, but I’m sure you’ll use your own judgment.

According to Wikipedia, American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once said “Creativity is seeing what everyone else sees, but then thinking a new thought that has never been thought before and expressing it somehow. It could be with art, a sculpture, music or even in science. The difference, however, between scientific creativity and any other kind of creativity, is that no matter how long you wait, no one else will ever compose “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony” except for Beethoven. No matter what you do, no one else will paint Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Only Van Gogh could do that because it came from his creativity.”

That’s fascinating, and it’s one of the reasons that inspired me to write “Light Echo,” a science fiction story featuring Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.  It won best-in-issue in “The Fifth Di…” and is featured in my ebook, “Science Fiction: The Arts.”

In the video below, Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about some of his favorite things in his office, including his Van Gogh treasures (see 1:33 into the video).

MIT Technology Review blogger Tom Simonite asks, “will robots create new jobs when they take over existing ones?“  Makes me wonder if in the future we’ll all have jobs managing robots (as in “The Jetsons”), or will the robots be managing us?  Or maybe laws will be created to prevent robots from certain kinds of jobs.

Those of us who watch ”Futurama” learned that robots aren’t allowed to compete in Blernsball (a future jazzed up version of baseball).

There’s an interesting MIT Technology Review blog entitled “Does a Tele-Robot Operator Need a Visa and W-2?”  That’s a good question.

I’ve been reading about telerobotics for a few years, wondering how well the technology works, especially internationally.  So I contacted a few of the companies that manufacture them.  The technology is so new that there don’t seem to be solutions yet for renting, repairing, and insuring telerobots for international use.  One company suggested that if it breaks down, you’d have to pay for the shipping costs back to the manufacturer in the U.S.

While there are probably plenty of customers interested in using telerobotics from a U.S. state-to-another-state, I wonder how many users there are internationally (such as U.S. to Europe).  I think it could make a significant dent in international air travel costs for businesses, but I don’t think the technology is there yet.