Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

The threat of robotics

Are the robots coming for our jobs? Like anything else in the world of economic and workforce development, the rise of artificial intelligence and the automated workforce is boon to some, bane to others.

For employers, robots mean a 24/7 workforce that doesn’t require benefits or vacation pay. For employees, AI is the creeping end to good jobs and economic security. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

“I wouldn’t say that AI Is not an issue in Tennessee, because it’s an issue everywhere,” says Dr. Bill Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the […]

Robocalypse Now? Technology, Productivity and Employment

Robocalypse Now? Technology, Productivity and Employment

Is the Robocalypse upon us? asked MIT economist David Autor in his presentation at a recent Forum of European central bankers. His presentation was based on a paper co-written with Utrecht University economist Anna Salomons . “Is productivity growth inimical to employment?,” they asked in the paper’s abstract. “Canonical economic theory says no, but much recent economic theory says maybe – that is, rapid advances in machine capabilities may curtail aggregate labor demand as technology increasingly encroaches on human job tasks.”

Fears that machines will put humans out of work are not new . Throughout the Industrial Revolution there were […]

Why does the Czech Republic have the lowest unemployment in the EU?

Why does the Czech Republic have the lowest unemployment in the EU?

Germany is Europe’s economic powerhouse, with a reputation for efficiency, order, and low unemployment. But since the end of 2015, the job market in the neighboring Czech Republic has been even stronger.

Data published this week showed that the Czech Republic’s unemployment rate was a mere 2.9% in June , compared with 3.8% in Germany and 7.7% in the European Union overall. So how does this former communist country do it? Unemployment rate

’09’10’11’12’13’14’15’16’1724681012%EU averageCzech RepublicGermany246810Data: Eurostat Firstly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, labour is cheap. The average hourly labor cost in the Czech Republic in 2016 was just €10.20 ($12.07), well […]

After Work: Automation and Employment Law, Part Two

After Work: Automation and Employment Law, Part Two

Cynthia Estlund is the Catherine A. Rein Professor at the New York University School of Law, and a longtime teacher and scholar of labor and employment law. This post is the second in a three-part series. Read the first part here .

Automation and Job Loss: What’s Law Got To Do With It?

The challenge of automation is in many ways continuous with the challenges of “fissured” work – to use David Weil’s influential formulation. In particular, both trends are driven in significant part by the costs and risks of employing human beings. According to investment banker Steven […]

Audiologists, Emergency Managers and Occupational Therapists Face Low Risk from Automation

Audiologists, Emergency Managers and Occupational Therapists Face Low Risk from Automation

man being check by audiologist How likely are you to be replaced by a robot or a computer program? It depends, according to a new report, “How Vulnerable Are American Communities to Automation, Trade and Urbanization?” Workers in data entry, telemarketing and watch repair are most likely to be targeted by automation, while surgeons…not so much.

The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and the Rural Policy Institute’s Center for State Policy at Ball State University, found that the rise of automation and offshoring could extend such job losses beyond the factory floor.

“Automation is likely […]

What you should know about AI

What you should know about AI

Artificial intelligence seems to be nearly everywhere these days, yet most people have little understanding of AI technology, its capabilities and its limitations.

Despite evocative names like “artificial intelligence,” “machine learning” and “neural networks,” such technologies have little to do with human thought or intelligence. Rather, they are alternative ways of programming computers, using vast amounts of data to train computers to perform a task. The power of these methods is that they are increasingly proving useful for tasks that have been challenging for conventional software development approaches.

The commercial use of AI had a bit of a false start nearly […]

After Work: Automation and Employment Law, Part One

After Work: Automation and Employment Law, Part One

Cynthia Estlund is the Catherine A. Rein Professor at the New York University School of Law, and a longtime teacher and scholar of labor and employment law.

The labor world took notice when Andy Stern emerged from a years-long deep dive into the future of work, and concluded that the future will bring a lot less work. His book, Raising the Floor , helped to spur a debate over the universal basic income (UBI), including on this blog . But the underlying issue of technology-related job loss has not yet engaged the close attention of labor and employment law […]

The future technology skills that will keep you in work

The future technology skills that will keep you in work

Skills gap The world of tech has always been fast moving, but things have accelerated of late and we’re heading ever closer to another skills gap.

As new technologies and delivery mediums co-exist – at least for now – with legacy and old-world processes and techniques, it becomes increasingly hard for IT professionals to keep their skill set relevant to both the demands of today and tomorrow.

Absolutely, some legacy skills will transition into the new world, although while some may be quite different to what we recognise today, but new skills will also be required.Here’s our run down of the […]

Driverless cars and trucks don’t mean mass unemployment—they mean new kinds of jobs

Driverless cars and trucks don’t mean mass unemployment—they mean new kinds of jobs

As business leaders who work with scores of senior leaders across the private and public sectors, the topic of automation and its implications for workers is inescapable—and often anxiety-inducing. Understandably so. Technology and social changes are poised to reshape nearly every aspect of what and how work gets done, and by whom. When we speak and write on this topic , the audience response is usually intense and ranges from excitement to deep anxiety.

Our response to these fears is two-fold.

First, the details matter—a lot. While every industry will likely be impacted, the nature of those impacts may vary considerably. […]

Philippines examines impact of AI on local jobs

Manila: The Philippines senate will look into how new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), could impact jobs in the country, amid growing apprehension abroad.

In a statement, Senator Bam Aquino said the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, which he chairs, will conduct a probe into the matter to determine the effects on local jobs, particularly business process outsourcing (BPO).

Aquino filed Senate Resolution No 344, to conduct an inquiry on the government’s plan and initiatives to maximise the benefits of developments in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.“We want to know what the effect of artificial intelligence to employment […]