Annotated Bibliography

Alex Conley
I have chosen to research artificial intelligence or robots, if you will. My argument is that
robots will take our jobs if they continue to advance too far. Not only low-level, manual labor
jobs, but higher education employment as well. So, my thesis statement is that robots will cause
economic downfall, quite possibly to an irreversible extent.
My first source is an article from the Economist called, The onrushing wave. This
article talks about our history of financial crisis as well as our current state of finance. The article
explains why the economy bounces back and forth in its economy, why we can never just find a
solid ground to stand on and stay there. The article also hypothesizes what we can do to improve
our economy in the future, and how technology affects it.
This article is not biased because it states facts throughout it, the article does not take one
side and try to convince you of it, it is an informative article, nothing else. I like this article, it
accurately shows how technology is changing and how it will affect all of us in the future and
present. I like this article because it gives me facts and graphs/charts to back my side, as well as
facts that back the other side, because I do need to argue it both ways. This article has been
backed by several different robotics journalists, and the author himself is one, so it has high
ethos.
Robots can-and will-change our lives, by Mark W. Tilden a robot physicist states that
robots are not just humanoid figures that attempt to look human, and be human. Robots are
everywhere; a robot is technically an automatic motorized tool. So we must consider what
robots are, they are our cars, our toasters, our blow dryers, our laptops, our phones and our
microwaves. It can make sense to fear a creepy, metal thing that looks like a person, but are we
ever scared of toasters? Only when they go off and startle me, otherwise no. The article explains
that robots could have a very positive effect on us because we can use them to help us, we can
work with them instead of them taking our work all for themselves. They can do our dangerous
jobs so we dont have to; its why we send rovers to Mars, not people.
I also like this article because it shows the positive side of things. It does not address the
issues of robots, so the article is biased to an extent, however if we only focused on the negative,
we would never see the positive. I needed this article to see a brighter future, the article has many
good things to say, and given that the author is a robot physicist, I do believe him and he has
good credibility, however most everything in the article is hypothetical, because when you are
talking about the future, how can you not be hypothetical? This article contrasts with the first, it
directly debates with the idea that robots have already taken our jobs, however the first article
proves they have. Due to the lack of facts, this article is less credible than the first.
How Are Jobs Susceptible to Computerization? by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A.
Osborne is an article that suggests that we are all gonna die, humans will lose everything, and
we will have no jobs in 2 years. This is an extremist article. This article illustrates the point that
many people fear and that is the rise of the machine. The article states several facts, but these

facts are largely exaggerated, as I have found no other sources to prove them, and they have no
sources cited in their document.
This article interests me because it is everything I do not want my paper to be. It is
extreme to an extreme; it takes the worst possible outcome and shoves it down your face. It is
smart to prepare yourself, however it seems pessimistic to jump to the worst conclusion so
quickly, especially considering this was written in 2013, before this became a huge deal, even.
There was less information out there at the time, and it was an ill-informed article. The authors
never stated their ethos, which is clearly a bad sign. I will not use this source for my final paper
and it is not a great source for any occasion.
Yes, the robots will steal our jobs. And thats fine, by Michael Jones, an assistant
professor in economics at the university of Cincinnati. This article takes a different look on how
things are going. This author knows that robots will take our jobs, we all do, it is almost a reality
at this point, however he points out that change is often a boogey man for us, and we should not
always fear it. We are afraid of the world changing because we only know it as it is, and we
should be more open minded to change. This article cutes evidence that proves more jobs could
be created through the creation of robots, however, it does point out that some jobs will become
extinct, and people who cannot change their career because its all they know will be screwed.
I like this article because it points out the truth, the lies, and the hard facts. The article
does not pretend one side is overtly better than another, it simply states why one might be. This
article makes the best argument I have seen for the side I am against yet. The author has great
credibility, seeing that he has a masters in economics, and I am a 17 year old in my first year of
college, I think he knows more than me. One article cannot change everything, however, and I
have seen more evidence against this than for it. The author did a good job arguing for his side,
good evidence, and he had facts and experience to back it. However, the opposition overwhelms
him.
What Happens When Robots Take Our jobs? by Xavier Mesnard is an article that talks
about the effects of automation in employment. Manufacturing jobs have fallen from 25% of the
total in 1970 to approximately 10% today, excerpt from the article. This article is the article that
many other articles cite as evidence, it is backed by research, it is what I call a primary article. It
inspires other articles to be written. The gist of the article is that it is uncertain of what lies ahead
for the future of employment regarding people and machines. However, the future does not seem
bright as the present has already been threatened.
I like this article because it makes a clear and concise argument for my side of the story.
It has a lot to back it up because Xavier Mesnard was and still is a robot technician, and he says
that robots are not very cost effective, and yet are still seen as cheaper than a human. Xavier says
that it would actually be smarter to not replace people with a machine due to the amount of
maintenance, and all the technological advances that have yet to come and are still necessary to
create these robots. This article basically says that the idea of robot labor being cheaper is simply
unfounded and untrue.
Robots will take most of our jobs within 30 years, experts warn, a
Time magazine article. The rise of robots could lead to unemployment rates
greater than 50 per cent, according to Professor Moshe Vardi. The opening

sentence of this article almost says it all. According to experts who study
economics as well as robotics, we could see the largest unemployment rate
of all time, in any given country. According to Moshe Vardi, it is likely that
work will become obsolete for people due to robots having taken most, if not
all of it. We are made to work, without a job we cannot provide, we cannot
live, and we definitely cannot thrive. It would destroy us to not have any jobs
left for ourselves.
I like this article because it illustrates the mind set rather than the
outside, more obvious effects. What would people do? What would anyone
have to contribute to this world or themselves, when all of the work is being
done for them? Some of the things that make us thrive are the obstacles we
cannot overcome, because we strive to one day overcome them. But if you
are born into a world where there is no obstacle you need to overcome,
because a machine is doing it for you, then does this life have any meaning?
This article explores the idea that regardless of money, food, water, etc,
robots can still destroy people by breaking what makes us people, what
separates us from a machine, our spirit.
Robots can take some of our jobs, but only humans can do other
things, by Brooks Rainwater. This article talks about how with a lot of things,
yes, a robot can do them for us, however, only people can do some things.
This is true, we can only build robots, we can procreate, we can feel and
have emotions, but how long will that last? How long before robots can
program and create each other? And why would robots need to procreate,
they are immortal; age is no matter for them. This article has amore
optimistic view, but it is not necessarily realistic.
I do not like this article because it has no real credibility. It states right
at the top that it is an opinion, which means that it can be wrong and be
proven wrong, and someone can still believe it. This article has little factual
evidence to support it, and it just dances around a real issue. The article
accuses people of being too paranoid, and states that many people are just
afraid of changes and yes, change is the boogey man we all fear, sure, but
its called the boogey man for a reason, its meant to be feared. Change is
not always a good thing, like progressivism. People think that as long as we
are making progress, then we are succeeding, but progress and success are
very different indeed.
Robots Will Take Our Jobs, by Niall Firth, a robotics major. Niall goes
back to the older idea that robots can only take our lower-class manual labor

jobs, Niall does not believe that robots could ever be programmed for more
complicated tasks. However, since 2014 when this article was published,
things have changed, the first robot accountants have been designed and
are being programmed, and it all happened so fast. Even for professionals,
this has blindsided many people.
I like this last article because it shows how quickly things change. It
hasnt even been a full two years and already something that was declared
practically impossible, is now happening, in just two years. Two more years,
and who knows where well be? Technology moves faster than us, and we
have a hard time keeping up.
I know where I stand on this issue, and the evidence only supports my
thesis. The only thing I have left unanswered so far is looking into the people
that believe robots are just slaves; they believe that it is morally wrong to
have robots. That is an entirely different that I can explore for my final paper.

SOURCES CITED
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21594264-previoustechnological-innovation-has-always-delivered-more-long-run-employmentnot-less
http://www.theguardian.com/zurichfuturology/story/01920335,00.html
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_
Employment.pdf
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/17/yesthe-robots-will-steal-our-jobs-and-thats-fine/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/what-happens-when-robotstake-our-jobs/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/sciencenews/12155808/Robots-will-take-over-most-jobs-within-30-years-expertswarn.html

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/22/robots-cantake-over-some-of-our-jobs-but-some-things-only-humans-can-do
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2014/0
5/robots_taking_jobs_technology_will_replace_driving_routine_physical_labor.
html