• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    You can’t 3D print laying all the pipe and the electric cabling and adding fixtures and insulation and all sorts of other things homes need.

    You can 3D print the basic structure. That’s it. You’re saving on bricklaying or carpentry.

    • ImpossibilityBox@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      And the second that it is economically viable the companies will be dumping their bricklayers/carpenters down the drain and replacing them with computer controlled construction methods.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        When will it be economically viable to dump all the people who have to set up the equipment and all of the people who have to do everything but make the basic structure? Is this ‘house set up and entirely built by robots down to the light fixtures with no human intervention’ a near future proposition?

        • jasondj@ttrpg.network
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          1 year ago

          When was it economically viable to replace hand-sewn lumber with lumber mills?

          Then they went and made portable electric saws. What a world!

          And then electric drills! And laser levels!

          Remember paper ledgers and abacuses? Ever hear of Microsoft Excel?

          We keep making tools that always increase productivity and reduce time and cost. It’s Constant incremental progress, and on a large scale it’s great because it frees up (human) resources to focus on new industry and technology, which furthers the CIP. On the micro scale, there may be a small number of temporarily displaced workers as jobs shuffle around and workers re-skill.

          But at this particular intersection of technology, we are at a pretty bad spot. We are on the verge of massive progress in multiple industries, and wealth has concentrated in the elite classes. “Temporarily displaced workers” won’t have the capital to re-skill or invest their own resources into new industry. This is bad.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            When was it economically viable to replace hand-sewn lumber with lumber mills?

            When they did it. Because they could process a huge amount more lumber. I’m not sure I understand.

            • Marin_Rider@aussie.zone
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              1 year ago

              what they are saying is that in the past, technological leaps meant increases in productivity and generally freed the displaced workers into new careers, but this time the sheer scale of change that is imminent doesn’t leave time for that. it’s going to be bad

        • mycatiskai@lemmy.one
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          1 year ago

          There are artisan blacksmiths that probably make bank doing custom jobs like blades and ironwork gates and other such artistry.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yes, moving things in a warehouse is exactly the same as laying plumbing and AC ductwork. There’s literally no difference in terms of complications.

        • IndefiniteBen@leminal.space
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          1 year ago

          You’re right that robots aren’t going to be able to replace plumbers or electricians in traditional building projects.

          But why can’t we change how new buildings are built so the method better suits robots. I’m sure with current technology we could design a building that could be built entirely by robots.

          I don’t think it’ll happen because it will take a lot of time and money to develop such a holistic system, with no return on profit until it’s a complete system.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            How soon do you think it will be before technology reaches the point that we can build completely functional houses with just robots? Give me a timeframe.

        • GreenM@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Well at one point i lead bunch of those “workers” on real project and oh boy, in some cases, i would much rather have robots do it.