Tag: consumer

Tech world debate on robots and jobs heats up

Advances in artificial intelligence and robotics are heightening concerns about automation replacing a growing number of occupations

Are robots coming for your job?

Although technology has long affected the labor force, recent advances in and robotics are heightening concerns about automation replacing a growing number of occupations, including highly skilled or “knowledge-based” .Just a few examples: self-driving technology may eliminate the need for taxi, Uber and truck drivers, algorithms are playing a growing role in journalism, robots are informing consumers as mall greeters, and medicine is adapting robotic surgery and artificial intelligence to detect cancer and heart conditions.Of 700 occupations in […]

Trumping commerce

Free trade and globalisation had a bad 2016, but it looks like 2017 could be even worse.

For decades there has been a consensus that globalisation brought more jobs, higher wages and lower prices – not just for richer countries but also for developing and poorer nations.

But there is now a growing movement of anger as people see jobs being taken by machines, old industries disappearing and waves of migration disturbing the established order.Global trade flows are falling and trade deals are being ripped up.The new US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 45% on […]

Chatbots spotlight machine learning’s trillion-dollar potential

Chatbots spotlight machine learning’s trillion-dollar potential

The global industry potential of artificial intelligence is well-documented, yet the vision of this AI future is uncertain.

AI and automation trends are generating significant debate among economists and governments, particularly around employment impact and uncertain social outcomes. The mainstream attention is warranted. According to PwC, AI “could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030 , more than the current output of China and India combined.”

AI is at a crossroads, and its long-term outlook is still hotly debated. Despite social media giants, automotive companies and numerous other industries investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, […]

Smart tractor comes to SA, buzzwords in tow

Smart tractor comes to SA, buzzwords in tow

In 2020, it says, it will launch the new 8RX tractor in South Africa. It is claimed to integrate “artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, and advanced automation to help farmers work more efficiently while also gathering data to make more informed decisions and increase future machine intelligence”

That is almost a jackpot of 4th industrial revolution buzzwords. So what lies behind this exuberance?

“We are very excited about the impact that the new 8RX tractor will have on improved yields in Africa,” says Freddie Rupping, Production System Specialist, Tractor Marketing, John Deere Sub-Saharan Africa.Yields are the key, and that promise […]

What Is The Future Of Work In The Tradable Sector?

What Is The Future Of Work In The Tradable Sector?

Last week we held a screening of the film American Factory at the Harvard Business School (HBS), attended by film director Steven Bognar and representatives of the production company, Participant Media . The event was part of the school’s Documentary Series, and it was an opportunity to discuss views on the future of work, especially manufacturing work in the heartland of America. NPR says we should all watch it , and now that I have seen it several times, I couldn’t agree more.

The film documents the establishment of a new automotive window glass manufacturing facility by the Chinese company […]

Automating A Job Reddit

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published this data story about the price of Russian oil across Europe. The uncertain situation is additionally stressful because it’s hard to separate facts about the future of automation’s impact from (science. AI and automation are certain to have a big impact on today’s employment landscape. These are the top 10 best and worst jobs for the future. The more a job can be broken down into a series of routine tasks, the more likely it can be replaced. Gunbot allows you to easily automate professional crypto trading strategies. , where she fed paper into […]

Letters to the Editor: Saving jobs in the digital world

Letters to the Editor: Saving jobs in the digital world

Beaven Dhliwayo

It is becoming more apparent that today’s jobs will be replaced by machines.

Many people are wondering if robots can do their jobs at a time the world economy is already facing major employment crisis.In the recent past, the discussion about technology in the future of work has tended to centre on the issues of job creation and destruction and the need for reskilling.Technology is fast evolving, at the same time connecting the digital world with the physical one, resulting in new innovations such as artificial intelligence and self-driving cars.Zimbabwe should not be left behind and should equip […]

Getting ready for the road ahead: How the future workplace will evolve

Getting ready for the road ahead: How the future workplace will evolve

The future of our jobs/careers is uncertain and nebulous. No one can see into the future and predict with any accuracy and certainty what is going to happen in the workplace, and how much robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and any other enhanced technologies that might develop, will alter it. We are all hoping it does so for the better and not for the worse!

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) developed a concept of four coloured worlds – red, yellow, blue and green – in close association with the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilisation at the Said Business School in Oxford. […]

America isn’t ready for longer lifespans

America isn’t ready for longer lifespans

More workers are delaying (or coming out of) retirement, having a second career, or simply working later into life. Like Michael Jordan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) At the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy was under 50 years. Today it’s 78 years. And people are routinely living far past that.

Though the CDC has found that life expectancy has been declining slightly since 2014 — largely driven by drug overdose and suicide — some studies estimate that a large number of children born today may live to 100.

The U.S. isn’t ready for this type of longevity.According to Ken […]

The 2020s are set to be an economic turning point, says global banking giant

The 2020s are set to be an economic turning point, says global banking giant

Bank of America Merrill Lynch says inequality will peak amid the rise of "moral capitalism". The 2020s are set to be a decade of dramatic economic and social upheaval, reversing many of the trends of the past 40 years, according to one of the world’s largest banks. Bank of America Merrill Lynch says the era of globalisation from 1981-2016 has ended and is reversing

The bank’s analysts expect inflation and interest rates to increase from their current 5,000-year lows

The bank is expecting wealth inequality to fall next decade as voters demand redistribution and taxes rise In what it […]