Tag: mobility

Making Technology Work for Workers

Making Technology Work for Workers

alashi/Getty Images For workers, coping with the rapid technology-driven transformation of labor markets, without sacrificing dignity, autonomy, or ambition, will require a combination of economic mobility and financial security that can be delivered through a new kind of social safety net – one that puts benefits squarely in the hands of the individual.

NEW YORK – As technological innovation transforms our economies, workers all over the world are doing whatever it takes – whether crossing borders, changing jobs, or starting businesses – for a chance to thrive. Yet, social safety nets have been much slower to change, meaning that workers […]

Like previous technological innovation, AI and automation promises increased productivity, higher wages, and even longer lifespans for everyone. But gaining this potential will require development and diffusion of these technologies carefully

Like previous technological innovation, AI and automation promises increased productivity, higher wages, and even longer lifespans for everyone. But gaining this potential will require development and diffusion of these technologies carefully

By Christopher Pissarides and Jacques Bughin

Public discussion of the effects of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) often focuses on the productivity benefits for companies and the economy, on the one hand, and on the potential downside for workers, on the other. Yet there is a critical third dimension that should not be overlooked: the impact of new technologies on wellbeing.

Historically, technological innovation has had positive effects on wellbeing extending far beyond what is captured by standard economic metrics such as GDP. Vaccinations, new pharmaceuticals, and medical innovations such as X-rays and MRIs have vastly improved human health and […]

Don’t Squander the Techno-Revolution

Don’t Squander the Techno-Revolution

Getty Images Like past waves of technological innovation, the new era of artificial intelligence and automation promises increased productivity, higher wages, and even longer lifespans for everyone. But realizing this potential will require governments and businesses to manage the development and diffusion of frontier technologies carefully.

LONDON – Public discussion of the effects of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) often focuses on the productivity benefits for companies and the economy, on the one hand, and on the potential downside for workers, on the other. Yet there is a critical third dimension that should not be overlooked: the impact of new […]

Future Automation

Great for the robots, but what about people?. The Future of Jobs Report aims to unpack and provide specific information on the relative magnitude of these trends by industry and geography, and on the expected time horizon for their impact to be felt on job functions, employment levels and skills. Universal Basic Income may be our only way out. 133, Sector No. Learn about Azure Automation, a cloud automation service for process automating those long-running, error-prone, frequently repeated tasks with Windows PowerShell. In this talk about the future of work, economist David Autor addresses the question of why there […]

The Next Wave of Innovation Will Come From America’s Forgotten Communities

The Next Wave of Innovation Will Come From America's Forgotten Communities

Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash In a New York Time’s article titled Tech Is Splitting the U.S. Work Force in Two , written by Eduardo Porter in February of this year, it was argued that the technology sector is breaking our economy in ways that are destabilizing our society, at large. In his piece, Porter argued that while the technology sector has promised a future where we’ll be capable of doing meaningful work we care about while being paid livable wages, we’re really just getting lulled into a world where robots do all the work and a small […]

A New, Higher Minimum Wage Hurts Everyone

A New, Higher Minimum Wage Hurts Everyone

(Tethysimagingllc/Dreamstime.com) The House just recently passed the Wage Act to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In the midst of their self-congratulatory back slapping, comments like "it’s an important step towards creating an economy that works for everyone" were tossed around. But is that statement true?

Yes, it is true that surviving on $8 or $9, or even $10 an hour, particularly in expensive metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, is difficult if not impossible. But raising the minimum wage is not going to provide a pathway out of poverty for workers making so […]

The Educated Underclass: Students and Social Mobility

The Educated Underclass: Students and Social Mobility

Neither a policy paper nor a career guide, Gary Roth’s The Educated Underclass: Students and the Promise of Social Mobility ( Pluto Press ) is, in the author’s words, “an examination of that edge of reality where education and economy produce results just the opposite of what in theory it is claimed that they do.” Roth is a lecturer in sociology and anthropology, and former vice chancellor and dean, at Rutgers University at Newark.

I won’t revisit much of the ground covered in the interview with him that ran at Inside Higher Ed earlier this year. My intent, rather, is […]

Searching for clarity: How much will automation impact the middle class?

Searching for clarity: How much will automation impact the middle class?

The long-run labor market consequences of advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of automation technology remain uncertain. This uncertainty stems from a recognition that while many jobs will undoubtedly be affected, it is difficult to predict which jobs are at risk and in which sectors new jobs will be created. This is not an idle concern: One in six Americans think that robots and computers will take over many jobs now done by humans; only 25% believe that automation will bring new, better paying jobs. And the estimates of jobs at risk are quite variable. Authors

For […]

Unpleasant consequences of technological changes

Unpleasant consequences of technological changes

Santosh Kumar Dash

Change is good. At least that is what we believe when it comes to technology which makes yesterday’s technology obsolete. If you have Ola/Uber, Swiggy/Zomato, Paytm/FreeCharge/PhonePe, and Flipkart/Amazon in your smartphone, life becomes easy. But such disruptive technological changes too have unpleasant effects.

First, it leads to rise in unemployment. Nobel prize-winning economist, Joseph E Stiglitz believes that rapid technological changes pose bigger challenges to employment creation in short to medium-run. Low-skilled workers face biggest risks in future as firms around the globe adopt new-age technologies like automation, artificial intelligence, robots and e-commerce firms. They challenged brick […]

4IR: The good, the bad and the inequality gap

4IR: The good, the bad and the inequality gap

On the brighter side, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will create many new jobs that do not exist today, says the writer. (Image: Franck V. / Unsplash) The Fourth Industrial Revolution is an unstoppable force that will have a profound impact on the world. While it will undoubtedly bring many benefits, we must beware it does not increase the already huge gulf between South Africa’s haves and have-nots.

Whether for good or bad, we are on the path of a technological revolution that is radically shaping the way in which we relate to the world and to one another. […]