Technological unemployment of cats

We’ve been giving all of our attention to the crisis automation poses for HUMAN workers. But what about cats? They have many jobs, too:

  • Greeter
  • Bookends
  • Footwarmers
  • Relaxation appliances (purring)
  • Seat warmer
  • Masseuse (kneading with paws)
  • Grooming assistant (licking noses and faces)
  • WWE live wrestling entertainment (requires two cats, preferably Siberians)
  • Morning wakeup service (also middle of night wakeup service)

    Now comes a video that shows us the serious risk of cat automation, and how the furry felines are likely to react to this cat-astrophic crisis.

    All humor aside, the rapid rise of AIs and robots to pervade society will affect our furry friends as well. Already, Sony makes an animatronic seal that serves as a companion “animal” for lonely elderly people. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t a good thing.

    But, markets and companies being what they are, why would it stop there? People who want pets without the mess and undesirable behaviors may in future prefer animatronic dogs and cats. IBM has already successfully modeled the functions of a cat brain in software. Certainly the capability to make such “companions” will arrive faster than full replication of human intelligence.

    I don’t see this as harmful, though it will certainly be strange to those of us who grew up in a world with only biological pets. This is but one example of how the world will become increasingly strange, and at a faster and faster rate. We need to become comfortable with rapid change, and with helping to guide it in desirable directions.

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