Letters: We’re applauding our own undoing

Machines are improving exponentially. They have slowly taken over the job of humans on assembly lines. Self-driving cars are not far away; self-flying aircraft will be the next step. Royal Caribbean has replaced bartenders with robots, and Amazon has developed a program for grocery shopping that eliminates the need for cashiers.

Robots will also stock store shelves, eliminating another need for humans. Drones will replace the drivers delivering mail. Libraries will soon be extinct as Google makes all information available on a small micro-computer that will be mounted on glasses or your body.

This is all exciting and has got us so engrossed and enthralled that we have overlooked the most important fact: It will result in an increase in unemployment at a rapid pace. More unemployment means fewer people who can afford to purchase the goods and services offered by the machines, increasing the chasm between the haves and have-nots.

Western civilization will collapse on its own without any help from ISIS or other fanatics.

This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Letters: We’re applauding our own undoing."