Author: automata

Think handcrafted pottery is safe from automation? Think again

Think handcrafted pottery is safe from automation? Think again

There are no shortages of studies suggesting that many forms of human employment as we know them today are likely to be wiped out by the ongoing AI revolution.

One thing many experts agree with, however, is that the jobs that will survive are those that rely on creativity and artisanal skill — since these are things machines will not be able to satisfactorily replicate.

Don’t tell that to Central Saint Martins student Charlotte Nordmoen, though. As part of a project called humanMADE, Nordmoen has created a prototype robot capable of generating its own examples of pottery — thanks to a […]

How digital manufacturing will shift production from the factory to your kitchen table

How digital manufacturing will shift production from the factory to your kitchen table

With the rapid pace of technological innovation, the need for greater market responsiveness, and the rising cost of labor in nearly all economies, many companies are revisiting age-old manufacturing strategies. They recognize there is a growing need to introduce innovative products faster to meet customer demands while maintaining aggressive cost and quality objectives. Traditional manufacturing approaches can no longer keep pace with this dynamic new consumer-driven age. Meeting these demands will instead require a complete reinvention to how we approach manufacturing, and this reinvention will need to unfold on a scale that amounts to a new industrial revolution. Welcome […]

Deloitte: Robots to replace a quarter of business service workers by 2035

Deloitte: Robots to replace a quarter of business service workers by 2035

Deloitte has predicted that as much as a quarter of jobs in the business services sector may be replaced by robots within the next 20 years.

The accountancy firm believes that rising wages and falling technology costs leaves many jobs at "high risk" of being taken over by automation.

Simon Barnes, a partner at Deloitte, warned that there could be a "fundamental change" in how the workforce is distributed in the next 10 to 20 years. People are likely to be made redundant from "repetitive and highly-structured" roles.Mr Barnes said that Deloitte expects “the pace of automation to increase […]

Jobs for the robots: One in four human workers to be automated

Jobs for the robots: One in four human workers to be automated

Yeah, you can call it a collaborative robot for now, and work with it, but pretty soon it will put you out of your job

One quarter of business services jobs at risk of automation in the next twenty years, according to Deloitte business analysts

More than a quarter of jobs in the business services sector are at high risk of automation in the next 20 years, according to a report by Deloitte , the business advisory firm. This is largely a result of the falling cost of technology combined with the rising cost of labour.Of the 3,300,000 jobs […]

Automation and Disruptive Technologies Will Soon Replace Lower-Skilled Jobs in ASEAN

Automation and Disruptive Technologies Will Soon Replace Lower-Skilled Jobs in ASEAN

A new study by the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities examines how technology is affecting workplaces in five major sectors across the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the transformation that enterprises and workers can expect in the next decade.

The report on ASEAN in Transformation: How Technology is Changing Jobs and Enterprises found the potential for growth and employment presented by advanced technologies, such as additive manufacturing, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), are considerable.

The report provides critical data on how millions of jobs are going to be impacted in the run up to 2025. However […]

Growth no longer means jobs: Inflexible labour laws, rapid technological change have caused employment generation to stall

Growth no longer means jobs: Inflexible labour laws, rapid technological change have caused employment generation to stall

Where are the jobs? This is the question Prime Minister Narendra Modi is repeatedly asked by his political opponents. One answer he has given recently in media interviews is that the jobs that are being created are invisible in the statistics: loans from the Mudra Bank are enabling self-employment, and as these micro businesses grow, they will add employees, one or two at a time. Hopefully, they will ultimately create millions of jobs in an economy that is releasing one million youth every month into the job market.

While creating a nation of micro-entrepreneurs is better than doing nothing, there […]

ILO: Low-skilled workers risk being replaced by advanced technology

ILO: Low-skilled workers risk being replaced by advanced technology

Asian workers at a garments production facility. Image from UN-ILO. MANILA – Some 56 percent of salaried workers in the Philippines and four other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries are "at high risk of displacement" due to advances in technology over the next couple of decades, a report of the International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed.

Based on a new study by ILO’s Bureau for Employers’ Activities, titled ASEAN in Transformation: How Technology is Changing Jobs and Enterprises, the potential for growth and employment presented by advanced technologies, "such as additive manufacturing, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), […]

Robots are set to take the jobs of millions of Asian workers in the coming years

Robots are set to take the jobs of millions of Asian workers in the coming years

Workers at a garment factory in Vietnam In the next few decades, about 56% of all salaried workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam could be displaced by automation and advanced technologies, such as 3D printing. That’s the conclusion of an extensive series of new studies by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mass-scale displacement won’t happen overnight, but it’s already in the works. Robots, for instance, are increasingly handling the labor previously done by low-skilled workers in industries such as automotive and electronics manufacturing. For governments and employers willing to educate and train workers for new, high-tech jobs, […]

US: President’s top economic adviser rejects basic income

US: President’s top economic adviser rejects basic income

Jason Furman, President Obama’s top economics adviser, rejected the idea of a universal basic income in remarks made on Thursday, July 7, at a White House workshop on automation.

The last of four workshops on automation co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy was held on Thursday, July 7 at New York University in New York City, New York.

At this workshop , Jason Furman , an economist who has served as Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers since June 2013, present prepared remarks entitled “ Is This Time Different? The Opportunities and Challenges […]

Where today’s tech can, and can’t, replace humans

Where today’s tech can, and can’t, replace humans

This morning, McKinsey & Co. is releasing a new look at the impact automation is likely to have across various sectors of the economy and, ultimately, the workplace. Its findings are based on analysis of 2,000-plus work activities across more than 800 occupations and includes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The good news, says the report, is that automation will “eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade.” It adds that automation will eventually affect “portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree.”

Whether you see this as a good or bad thing could […]