Robots Don’t Go on Strike

I don’t know what’s scarier…

That 47,000 dock workers are waving placards that scream: “FIGHT AUTOMATION, SAVE JOBS.”

Or that their chief negotiator, Harold Daggett, has threatened to “cripple” the U.S. economy and appears to mean it.

Thirty-six ports across the East Coast of the United States – responsible for about half of all seaborn trading volume – are closed until further notice.

This is projected to cost the economy $5 billion per day the ports are closed… will likely mean fewer presents under the Christmas tree due to delays… and throws a major wrench in the Federal Reserve’s efforts       to contain inflation.

Today, I’ll show what to actually do about all of this.

First, let’s take a quick look at the strikers’ demands.

A Strike to Halt Progress

The striking dock workers are members of the International Longshoremen’s Association.

And they want higher pay – 77% percent higher!

But they’ll accept that increase over a gracious three-year period. How nice of them.

Pay negotiations are a part of every strike. There’s nothing noteworthy about that. It’s the second demand that should have every American up in arms.               

Per Daggett, “We will not accept automation replacing the men and women who built this industry with their blood, sweat, and sacrifice.”

They’re striking to halt technological progress.

Fine idea!

Let’s get rid of mechanized harvesters, too, and go back to subsistence agriculture. That sounds fun. I’m sure American workers can’t wait to get back into the fields under the boiling sun.

Or better yet, let’s get rid of the internal combustion engine and bring back horse-drawn buggies.

And while we’re at it, why not chuck our laptops out the window and go back to using an abacus for calculations. If it was good enough for Fibonacci, it’s good enough for me.

To hell with it! Let’s just go back to living in caves and hunting with spears!

In Daggett’s defense, I get it.

He’s worried that AI, robotics, and automation will eliminate jobs.

And they will.

That’s a given. 

Technology has been eliminating entire professions since the Industrial  Revolution. And many struggled to adapt then. People will always struggle to adapt to such changes.       

But fighting technology is futile.

If you don’t use it, your competitors will. And they’ll put you out of business.

Worse, if you turn your back on technology as a nation, another nation might even conquer you.

As we often talk about here at The Freeport Society, every new technology advances us deeper into the Life of Leisure. Each new development frees up more of our time, which we then use to do more of the things we love.

Yes, in the beginning, there’s pain for those negatively impacted. Some may never fully recover. But there are winners and losers in a competitive market economy.

Austrian School economist Joseph Schumpeter called it “creative destruction.”

It’s how capitalist economies evolve – old businesses and models are constantly being destroyed to make way for new and more efficient ones.

This process made America the wealthiest country in human history. You adapt to change… or you get left behind.      

Robots Don’t Go on Strike

Ironically, the dockworkers’ strike over automation makes it undeniably clear why we need automation in the first place.

Robots can’t go on strike.

I don’t know what deal the union will make with the port operators. But won’t halt the exponential progress of technology. If anything, this strike will accelerate it.

That’s why automation… technology… and AI are great trends to invest in.

Let’s look past the dock workers. Together, they’re only about 45,000 people. In a civilian workforce of 168 million, that’s a rounding error.

But there are 3.5 million truckers, a quarter of a million taxi drivers, and 1.5 million Uber drivers who are officially “on notice.” 

Google-owned Waymo already operates a fleet of robo-taxis in San Francisco and Phoenix. And it’s testing its robo-taxis in Los Angeles.

And Waymo just got a shot in the arm.

California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed AB 1777. It creates guidelines for what to do if a driverless vehicle gets into an accident or has an encounter with police, medics, or other first responders.

Newsom also vetoed two bills that would have banned autonomous trucks from operating on public roads and created onerous data reporting for autonomous vehicle companies.

I’m not sure where Newsom’s veto pen was when he approved his state’s asinine $20 minimum wage. But hey, better that he found it late than never.

And it’s not just Google that wants a slice of the new robo-taxi industry.

As I mentioned, Elon Musk will be unveiling Tesla’s robo-taxi ambitions at a much-hyped event next week.

Will we all be carted around by driverless cars this time next year?

Of course not. We didn’t all magically get on the internet the day the Netscape browser went live in 1994… we didn’t all simultaneously embrace Uber the day it launched in 2009… and we didn’t all start using ChatGPT for clerical work when it was released to the public two years ago.

These things take time.

But that day is coming… and it’s coming quickly. 

In fact, adoption is already far further along than you may realize. Tech investor Luke Lango, over at InvestorPlace, tells me that he and his wife regularly use driverless taxis to get to and from the airport or to go into town.

When they order dinner, it arrives via a driverless car.

And it costs less than taking an Uber, a company that slashed prices and gutted the taxi industry. Here’s Luke…

I flew into Sky Harbor airport here in Phoenix, where I live. I was about to order an Uber to my house. It was going to cost me about $45. Then I opened the Waymo app to see how much a driverless car would cost. Waymo was going to charge me $26 for the same ride. So, I picked the Waymo.

That’s value proposition will keep me, along with tens of millions other Americans, going back to Waymo. You’re going to save $20, $30, $40 bucks a ride.

And to say he’s bullish on this trend is an understatement. He believes that robo-taxis are going mainstream next year. Back to Luke for more…

Waymo is delivering about 100,000 rides a week Phoenix and San Francisco. It’s doing testing in Los Angeles. And it’s expanding to Austin, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia in early 2025 through a partnership with Uber.

By January 2025, you’ll be able to hail robo-taxis in Phoenix, San Francisco, LA, Austin, and Atlanta. And I expect Waymo to launch one to two new cities almost every month after that. So, by the end of next year, we’re talking two dozen – maybe three dozen – cities that have at least some Waymo capability.

This is the world we are sprinting into. Next year is going be a huge year for the industry… and for stocks in companies powering this trend.

Luke has identified the investments primed to take off after Musk’s October 10 reveal.

And he’ll be sharing those details with you in a special strategy session that kicks off Monday, October 7, at 10 a.m. ET – including a small, explosive stock that could play a key role in Elon’s new AI product. 

You can reserve your spot for that event now by going here.

Don’t miss it. I won’t.

To life, liberty, and the pursuit of wealth.