Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Coping with Technology: Challenges and Opportunities for ASEAN+3 Economies

Coping with Technology: Challenges and Opportunities for ASEAN+3 Economies

Technology Technological change and the relentless pace of automation offer significant opportunities for productivity growth and improved efficiency, but they also bring related risks of increased worker displacement and the challenge of upskilling labor.

While the rise in trade protectionism (discussed in the first part of this interview ) is an immediate reality the ASEAN+3 economies are confronted with, coping with technological advances and using them to drive productivity and growth is a medium- to long-term challenge for the region.

In this second part of the interview, AMRO’s chief economist, Hoe Ee Khor, touches upon this topic, as well as other […]

Human Writes: Some drama sorely needed, especially in our schools

Human Writes: Some drama sorely needed, especially in our schools

Human Writes: Time to include the stateless children in Malaysia Indicinelive! sketch comedy series makes a long-awaited return I have two nieces currently preparing for university and then employment. I wonder about their future. Tomorrow’s job market is going to be very different due to the “robot revolution”.

Consider this: By 2030, 800 million global jobs will be lost to automation, according to a McKinsey Global Institute report last year on 46 nations. That’s a fifth of the global workforce gone in a decade. Shocking, isn’t it?

The report predicts a huge transition of the job market, of the size seen […]

Economics101: Automation need not endanger human jobs

Economics101: Automation need not endanger human jobs

Many people are terrified that automation and artificial intelligence are the beginning of the end for human jobs. ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP Many people are terrified that automation and artificial intelligence are the beginning of the end for human jobs.

The result is dystopian visions of a world where most humans do nothing all day, being denied a dignified existence, while an elite class who own and control robots amass immeasurable wealth. Are such fears well-founded?

Before we discuss the latest research, it is worth noting an old but still instructive observation made by the British economist Nicholas Kaldor in 1961. Decades of […]

It’s all a matter of policy: Why robots, artificial intelligence mightn’t put us out of work

It’s all a matter of policy: Why robots, artificial intelligence mightn’t put us out of work

A technician works on a robot, part of a display by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. Robots haven’t resulted in the job losses predicted in that country. Source:AFP

THERE have been three industrial revolutions in modern history. The first was driven by steam power, the second by mass production, and the third by automation in the late 20th century.

Now, in the early 21st century, a ‘fourth industrial revolution’ is driving changes where artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, automation and big data are combined in a process referred to as ‘Industry 4.0’ — and it’s making businesses more […]

5 Jobs that have been Created by Tech and Automation

5 Jobs that have been Created by Tech and Automation

In recent years, there has been a lot of worry about how technology could impact employment, particularly the fear that jobs could become obsolete. While it would appear there is a reason for concern – for example, The Guardian recently reported that 1 in 3 warehouse jobs could be lost to automation – it seems the rise in tech could actually benefit the workforce.
A 2017 study found that while AI had eliminated 800,000 jobs, it has subsequently created another 3.5 million. With that in mind, here are 5 jobs that exist as a direct result of innovations in […]

After Recessions, Why Do Some Jobs Disappear Forever?

After Recessions, Why Do Some Jobs Disappear Forever?

During the financial crisis of 2008, employment fell dramatically, as was expected. But in the economic recovery that followed, only certain jobs bounced back. A research paper by Wharton finance professor Nikolai Roussanov looks at this phenomenon and correlates it with technological adoption by companies during a down economy.

The paper, whose co-authors are Cornell University professor Mathieu Taschereau-Dumouchel and Wharton doctoral student Alex Kopytov, is titled “ Short-Run Pain, Long-Run Gain? Recessions and Technological Transformation .” Roussanov recently sat down with Knowledge@Wharton to explain the scope and goal of the research as well as what they found. […]

Economist Kaushik Basu worried over poor jobs data in India

Economist Kaushik Basu worried over poor jobs data in India

[File] Kaushik Basu | Reuters Kaushik Basu, the former chief economic adviser to the government of India, has raised concerns on the state of India’s jobs market and has also called for improving education standards, where we have slipped in rankings.

"Jobs data is very poor in India. Part of it is legitimate reason that so much of work is so different from what you get in the west that the definitions of west with which you are collecting (data), Indian answers will not fit into these and we are not good at collecting jobs data. But from all the […]

India Inc – Hello AI, Bye-bye EA?

India Inc – Hello AI, Bye-bye EA?

Sukhdeep Aurora, Chief People Officer – ANAROCK Property Consultants

India is adopting new-age technology fairly rapidly – and is, in fact, a hotbed for the very creation of such technology. Corporate executives are increasingly using technology to make their day-to-day tasks more efficient and less strenuous. This trend brings up a loaded and hotly-debated question for India Inc. and in fact corporates globally – will technology eliminate the need for humans when it comes to performing routine tasks?

There is obviously no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The answer is obviously ‘yes’ when it comes to a number of largely […]

How AI and Intelligent Automation Impact HR Practices

How AI and Intelligent Automation Impact HR Practices

AI and intelligent forms of automation are changing the ways companies operate. HR is no exception. In fact, HR leaders are spearheading automation efforts for their employers.

Today’s businesses must continually improve process efficiencies to stay competitive. Given the high cost of human labor, they are turning to AI and intelligent automation technologies to lower costs and increase ROI. While there’s considerable anxiety in some parts of the workforce about the impact of AI and intelligent automation, experts say workers and their employers are happier when humans focus on what they do best. Image: Shutterstock Forrester Research has defined a […]

Rebuilding the employment security system for the Rust Belt that created it

Rebuilding the employment security system for the Rust Belt that created it

Industrial transformation, brought on by global trade, new digital technologies , and changes in the structure of work, have hit Rust Belt communities hard. Some places, such as Pittsburgh and Kalamazoo, have gone through painful transitions and come out the other side. However, the majority of the Rust Belt’s older industrial cities continue to struggle with job loss and weak economic growth.

The collapse of the region’s labor-intensive manufacturing-based economy took its toll on the employment-based safety net protections that Midwestern employers and unions forged after World War II. Today, employer-based systems of health insurance, pensions, and unemployment insurance serve […]