Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Is the Old Sourcing Model Dead?

Is the Old Sourcing Model Dead?

A textile factory | Source: Shutterstock LONDON, United Kingdom — The fear that robots will one day take our jobs is almost palpable across many industries today. Fashion is no different, with technology set to shift the current apparel sourcing model to such an extent that the supply chain as we know it may soon cease to exist.

On the one hand, the so-called “march of the machines” puts a staggering 231 million jobs at risk across 50 countries for manufacturing as a whole, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. But on the other hand, it allows an industry to […]

John Phelan: Wage mandates drive investment toward machines, away from labor

For the last few years there’s been a pretty brutal meme circulating online. You might have seen it. It shows a customer-operated ordering machine in a restaurant with the caption “This is a fast food worker on $15 minimum wage.” New research suggests that those meme makers might have been right.

In a new paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research (“People Versus Machines: The Impact of Minimum Wages On Automobile Jobs”), economists Grace Lordan and David Neumark examine whether minimum-wage laws prompt employers to switch to using machines instead of labor. Their research focuses particularly on “automatable jobs […]

Around 13% of Americans Fearful Over Losing Jobs to Automation

Around 13% of Americans Fearful Over Losing Jobs to Automation

About 13% of American workers are fearful over losing their jobs to automation, robots, or artificial intelligence over the next five years, according to a recent Gallup survey .

Most think they may have to learn new skills, because their job will become obsolete or unnecessary. Many also expressed concern over an impending reduction in salary and employment benefits .

The report comes after market research firm Forrester estimated that robots would replace 6% of jobs in the US by 2021. These jobs include customer service representatives and taxi and truck drivers. White-collar jobs that could be replaced include surgeons, anesthesiologists, […]

Rye study says automation may put you out of a job

Rye study says automation may put you out of a job

According to a new report by Ryerson’s Brookfield Institute, as businesses use technologies that outpace human effort and ability, workers will need more training and education to catch up to new job expectations. This will mean a person who wants to meet the job market’s demands will have to supply new skills.

Automation increases competition in so many fields that it has reduced demand for labour, leading to an “oversupply of university grads” said Creig Lamb, a policy advisor and author of “Future-Proof: Preparing Young Canadians for the Future of Work.”

His research found Canadian youth are three times more likely […]

Digital skills needed in high-tech factories

Digital skills needed in high-tech factories

Infineon employees inputting jobs on an automated guided vehicle. The introduction of new workflow, technology and robotics requires new skill sets in troubleshooting and operating a variety of man-machine interfaces, said senior director of communications David Ong. Mr James Khoo has had his work cut out for him lately.

The hiring executive at Ultra Clean Asia Pacific is rushing to fill about 30 positions, mostly related to assembling machine parts or troubleshooting systems.

"Currently, we’re expanding. We have a lot of prospects coming up, and we need people who are qualified to take up the roles, especially technicians," said Mr Khoo.DISCOVER […]

Report: Majority of manufacturing jobs could be automated

Report: Majority of manufacturing jobs could be automated

Dive Brief:

McKinsey reports that automation has transformed manufacturing operations, employment and economics in the past 20 years and could bring more industrial changes with rapid advancements in robotics , artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning . As of 2015, 478 billion of 749 billion working hours dedicated to manufacturing worldwide were automatable, according to McKinsey, the equivalent of $2.7 trillion out of $5.1 trillion in labor "that could be eliminated or repurposed" if the available technology was adapted and adopted.

Companies that have not automated their operations need to think about three things, McKinsey says: 1) the possibilities […]

Legal Technology and Smart Contracts: Contract as Automaton (Part V)

Legal Technology and Smart Contracts: Contract as Automaton (Part V)

In our final installment of a five-part series, we close by interviewing Mark Oblad , around contract on automaton plus a look to the future. Blockchain and cryptocurrency law are opportunities for attorneys, not threats. Lawyers must embrace technology, although not all need to become as expert as Mark or other programmers in order to leverage technology. Shutterstock Mary: What is the tie between contract and automation?

Mark: By extension, smart contract events should easily connect to the broader world of automation (think internet of things), though perhaps after carefully considering possible outcomes and selectively determining where it is […]

Pensions – Articles – SPA debate may be irrelevant if AI predictions play out

Ahead of the conference Better Futures, which will debate challenges presented by an ageing society, the rise of AI and a lack of savings, Hymans Robertson has looked at the implications for the State pension if predictions about the impact AI will have on jobs and UK GDP play out. Many argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to change society and the economic landscape beyond recognition. Commenting, Calum Cooper, Partner at Hymans Robertson, said: “There are many predictions about the impact the rise of Artificial Intelligence will have in the future. While we can’t be certain about […]

Deutsche Bank CEO Says Bankers and Accountants Are Not Safe From Automation

Deutsche Bank CEO Says Bankers and Accountants Are Not Safe From Automation

We constantly hear about how technology, robots, and computers are coming to replace us in the workplace. However, some jobs are at higher risk than others. For this reason, many people who are not in low-skilled or manual labor positions often feel somewhat safe from the oncoming technology revolution. Deutsche Bank, the large international financial institution, recently cast doubt on this kind of thinking when its CEO alluded to replacing the company’s workers with technology. Bankers’ and Accountants’ Jobs may not be Safe

The CEO of Deutsche Bank, John Cryan, recently made it clear that workers in the […]

Kai-Fu Lee talks AI-driven unemployment: ‘Who says we need jobs?’

Kai-Fu Lee talks AI-driven unemployment: ‘Who says we need jobs?’

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com/kurhan

With more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter , Kai-Fu Lee knows how to attract attention. As head of Beijing’s Sinovation Ventures (and former head of Google China), Lee is an often outspoken and controversial champion of artificial intelligence. Among his headline-making predictions are that 50 percent of all jobs will be replaced by automation, that China will become an AI superpower , and that Wall Street’s biggest banks will be overtaken by AI . But rather than fearing an AI apocalypse, Lee says we must accept the enormous changes ahead, especially those related to mass unemployment. […]