Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Opinion: Putting the labor into Labor Day

Opinion: Putting the labor into Labor Day

Labor Day. More than a beer-and-brats fueled bacchanalia on the last true weekend of summer, it is intended to celebrate the achievements of the American worker and, if such be possible, his or her “class.” A child of the late 19 th -century Progressive movement, it was set in September rather than on the traditional laborers’ day of May 1 to avoid unpleasant conflation with the doings of the Second Socialist International at a time when xenophobia was rampant here. To what extent such concern was justified is a topic for another time.

The New York state assembly first proposed […]

We need to train employees of the future to deal with a world of robots and automation

We need to train employees of the future to deal with a world of robots and automation

The current wave of technology seems more sweeping than those of the past, and the uncertainty it has created feels more profound. Photo Credit: Bloomberg / Marlene Awaad On Monday we celebrate American workers, as we do every year. And we do so as American workers worry about their future, as they have for many years.

They have seen technology advance by leaps and bounds, and understand that for many businesses, it would be cheaper to automate their jobs. They wonder whether and when a robot will replace them.

There is reason for their concern. As many as half of U.S. […]

Many unprepared for the automated world to come

Many unprepared for the automated world to come

(Photo: Courtesy photo) My friend Kelly has long claimed that we have this whole unemployment thing backward. Instead of 100 percent employment, our goal should be 100 percent unemployment. Let the robots do all the work.

Ready or not, here it comes.

As I was researching the Labor Day editorial that will run tomorrow, I came across a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute that claims current technology exists to replace 49 percent of human workers with automation. And it’s not just on the assembly line. The McKinsey study identified 70 professions in which at least 90 percent of the […]

Are robots coming to steal our jobs? – Perspectives from 4 Nobel Laureate Economists

Are robots coming to steal our jobs? – Perspectives from 4 Nobel Laureate Economists

World / Technology / Innovation / Technology / Singapore Technology could be a threat to jobs in early-stage developing countries, mostly in Latin America and Africa, who are highly reliant on labour-intensive, process-oriented manufacturing.

Above image: Michael Spence from NYU Stern; Roger B. Myerson of the University of Chicago; Peter A. Diamond from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Robert Merton from MIT and Harvard University; Paul Donovan, Global Chief Economist, UBS (screenshot from Nobel Perspectives Live! video in Singapore/ Credit :UBS)

Everyday now we see headlines with percentages and numbers of jobs threatened by machines. As technology gets smarter […]

Guarantee every American a basic income? The U.S. can’t afford it

Guarantee every American a basic income? The U.S. can’t afford it

Concerns have been raised about the technological revolution now underway, particularly the potential for jobs to be replaced by automation. We now have robots in warehouses and factories, self-checkout cashier stations in stores and ordering kiosks in fast-food restaurants.

Some tech luminaries are predicting this will lead to massive layoffs, and they want government to provide a universal basic income as compensation.

Silicon Valley billionaires have become the most vocal proponents of a universal basic income. Elon Musk, founder of Space X and Tesla, predicts millions of workers will be replaced by automation in the next 30 years. “I think we’ll […]

Lessons for us from the horse apocalypse

Lessons for us from the horse apocalypse

Summary: Artificial intelligence has arrived. The mid-twentieth century horse apocalypse shows us what it might do to employment. It is history’s rebuttal to the pollyannas about tech. This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post — Films show us how smart machines will reshape the world . “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”
— Attributed to Roy Charles Amara as paraphrased by Robert X. Cringely. Once there were ten million plowhorses in America. Most lost their jobs.
Many became glue or dog food.

The next […]

Trump tax cut failure or a US debt default will spell danger for financial markets and the UK economy, warns HAMISH MCRAE

Trump tax cut failure or a US debt default will spell danger for financial markets and the UK economy, warns HAMISH MCRAE

Holidays are over, schools go back, and in the US, Labor Day on Monday marks the end of the vacations there too.

This autumn the focus here will be the Brexit negotiations, which will continue in their bad-tempered way. Do not expect any breakthroughs; the trench warfare will continue for a while yet.

But across the Atlantic something big may happen that will rebound on us in the UK too. The question is whether Donald Trump can get sensible tax reforms through Congress when it resumes on Tuesday. ‘The question is whether Donald Trump can get sensible tax reforms through Congress […]

How worried are workers about technology replacing them?

Policymakers know that advancing technology and automation will present challenges and opportunities for them. But how do Americans feel about it, particularly as it relates to their jobs?

To start, Americans are extremely high on US science and technology. When Pew asked people to name the greatest US achievement of the 20th century, scientific and technological accomplishments topped the list, followed by medical advances. In AEI’s most recent annual survey of polls on attitudes toward work, we examined historical public opinion data on concerns about automation and jobs. In the abstract, Americans worry about advancing technology replacing workers. In a […]

Automation will make countries with a youth bulge more volatile

Automation will make countries with a youth bulge more volatile

Automation is on track to disrupt the status quo everywhere, but nations with a youth bulge will be more affected than others. A large youth population whose employment and future is threatened by automation could drive political instability and violence. The risks of a youth bulge

It is becoming quite clear that automation will be able to replace an increasing number of human tasks from driving to answering phones. This has the potential to boost economies and improve quality of life, but for many it will mean an uncertain future and fewer opportunities. Governments must find ways to […]

Editorial: A Labor Day mixed bag

Editorial: A Labor Day mixed bag

With America’s Labor Day celebrating its 123rd birthday, it’s forgivable to feel torn about where the average U.S. worker stands today.

On the one hand, the nation is at what’s considered pretty much full employment. On the other, the number of able people between 25 and 55 who have voluntarily placed themselves, perhaps permanently, on the sidelines — approaching 6 million American men alone — flirts with historic highs.

If wages at long last have begun to tick up and keep up with inflationary levels, that follows decades of stagnation or worse that have left millions of middle class Americans behind […]