Tag: robot

Adjusting to the new world of work

Adjusting to the new world of work

Waking up on my first morning in Las Vegas, where the time is 14 hours behind Thailand, was not easy. Cup of coffee in hand, I walked past a group of senior citizens wearing red long-sleeved T-shirts outside a large conference hall. They were event ambassadors, hired to welcome and guide participants from all over the world, and the sight of their smiling faces helped to bring me awake. What a pleasant start to the day: I get to experience human interaction and some seniors have a chance to earn extra income, I was telling myself.

I was in Las […]

Not All Workers Fear Automation, Study Says

Not All Workers Fear Automation, Study Says

Many workers are surprisingly sanguine about the impact of automation on their jobs according to a survey of 5,000 business decision makers and knowledge workers. It reveals the majority of the latter (83 per cent) are comfortable with reskilling in order to work alongside the digital workforce.

The study was sponsored by Blue Prism, which along with Automation Anywhere and UIPath, is considered a leader in the at times controversial Robotic Process Automation market.

The impact of automation on employment featured heavily as a discussion point in last week’s Blue Prism World conference in London. The company was keen to emphasize […]

Regulating Work in an Age of Fissuring and Automation

Regulating Work in an Age of Fissuring and Automation

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Employers may increasingly automate their workplaces, requiring a new approach to workplace regulation.

Why and when do firms hire employees? This question has grown urgent in light of two trends that are undermining the standard employment relationship: “fissuring,” or firms’ growing tendency to secure inputs from outside suppliers, and automation, or the replacement of human labor with machines. The latter has been going on for centuries. But many informed observers argue that “this time is different,” and that innovations in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are likely in the foreseeable future to destroy more jobs than they create—and […]

The autonomous car revolution is here

The autonomous car revolution is here

Driverless cars used to be the sort of thing you’d see in reel life, but today they are becoming real in real life. India is a different ball game for driverless cars with jaywalkers, poor pothole-ridden roads and bad road discipline. Steven Spielberg’s "Minority Report" nailed the driverless car technology way back in 2002 with its futuristic Lexus-designed auto-piloted car. In one of the scenes, Tom Cruise decides to "run" from the authorities and sets off an exciting driverless car chase.

Driverless cars used to be the sort of thing you’d see in reel life, but today they are becoming […]

Nearly half of all Erie jobs will be disrupted by automation, tech – GoErie.com

Nearly half of all Erie jobs will be disrupted by automation, tech – GoErie.com

According to a Brookings Institution study, “Some of the most vulnerable jobs are those in office administration, production, transportation and food preparation.” EDINBORO — It was 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 11 people were checking out at the same time at the Walmart store in Washington Township.

But only three cashiers were handling the task of scanning the flow of bagged oranges, paper towels, cat food, socks, and other items. At eight other registers, shoppers were scanning their own orders.

That scene, perhaps more than robotized assembly lines, might represent the most recognizable face of workplace automation in Erie County.A recent […]

Robots invade foodie San Francisco, promising low prices, tasty meals and cheap labor

Robots invade foodie San Francisco, promising low prices, tasty meals and cheap labor

San Francisco restaurants like Creator are leaning on automation to create low cost food. This could be an issue for humans as robots take over jobs. USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — The lunchtime line is out the door at Creator, a recent addition to this city’s hip downtown foodie scene.

But the chef here has no Michelin stars, no attitude and no heart. Because the chef is a robot.Steak, tomatoes, onions, buns and condiments get loaded into an ingenious machine, and a freshly ground, gourmet hamburger rolls out. Long known as a hotbed of hand crafted foods, some San Francisco restaurants […]

The Construction Industry Needs a Robot Revolution

The Construction Industry Needs a Robot Revolution

Ed Freeman/Getty Images In debates about the future of work , technology is often portrayed as the villain. One recent study calculated that 38 percent of jobs in the United States were at a “high risk” of being automated during the next decade. In the construction industry, predictions are especially dire: estimates of robot-fueled joblessness range from 24 percent in Britain to 41percent in Germany.

There is no question that automation will change the way people work, but for some sectors of the economy, change is long overdue. Nowhere is this truer than in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC).

For an […]

Is Automation Taking Labour Jobs?

Is Automation Taking Labour Jobs?

Even Experts cannot deny exactly how much Robots and AI Technology will change our Workforce.

In today’s era, there’s little in the world of work that can’t be done by computers, either now or in the foreseeable future. Machines have been doing many things more precisely than humans for all sorts of industries from farming [Autonomous tractors] to retail [Amazon’s warehouse robots].

Even the tasks we used to think as ‘safe’ from Machines, such as those involving quintessentially human traits like empathy and creativity, are slowly becoming things computers might one day do.Robotics and machine learning [AI] have improved productivity and […]

The Curious Task: The Automation Problem

The Curious Task: The Automation Problem

[Fair warning, this post is a bit long. This is a transcription from a Podcast Episode. If the post is a bit long for your tastes, please consider listening to the podcast episode instead.] Does automation kill jobs?

Since 1900, Manufacturing and Agriculture jobs have diminished a great deal. Using a measurement of total US employment, we can observe there has been damage to employment in these industries. Agriculture went from almost 40% in 1900, to less than 2% by 2010. Manufacturing from 25% in 1900, to just under 10% in 2010.

While automation is not responsible for the total […]

Report: Toledo area most vulnerable to automation in employment

Report: Toledo area most vulnerable to automation in employment

It seems safe to predict tractor-trailers will continue hauling the country’s goods across interstate highways in the near future.

Trucking veteran Ed Nagle, however, goes a step further. Even as autonomous vehicle technology advances and shapes the future economy, he expects a human will occupy big-rig driver’s seats for at least a decade to come.

“I tell people, when you’re ready to send your family up in an airplane without a pilot, then people will start to look at the possibility of an 80,000-pound vehicle going down the road unmanned,” said Mr. Nagle, president and CEO at Nagle Companies of Walbridge. […]