Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Wiping Out Jobs Growth With Robotics

Wiping Out Jobs Growth With Robotics

Shutterstock photo In August of 2012, I penned a post on labor costs stating " labor costs are no longer a primary factor in determining where business should locate. "

This quote was framed within a general discussion of factors used in selecting business / manufacturing criteria for determining where to locate. In hindsight, a more precise statement would have been " automation / robotics are eliminating labor costs as the primary factor in determining where a business should locate ".

In that post, I stated that robotic operating systems cost initially $250,000 per year, and concluded: In a 24 hour […]

Thinking Through How Automation Will Affect Your Workforce

Thinking Through How Automation Will Affect Your Workforce

Today, executives have to cut through a lot of hype around automation. Leaders need a clear-eyed way to think about how these technologies will specifically affect their organizations. The right question isn’t which jobs are going to be replaced, but rather, what work will be redefined, and how? Based on our work with a number of organizations grappling with these issues, we’ve found that the following four-step approach can help.

1. Start with the work, not the “job” or the technology. Much work will continue to exist as traditional “jobs” in organizations, but automation makes traditional jobs more fluid […]

Universal basic income still in ‘experimental’ stage

Universal basic income still in 'experimental' stage

In Switzerland last June, they had a referendum on a universal basic income that would have given each adult Swiss citizen US$2,500 (86,450 baht) per month. It would have gone to everybody whether they were working or not and the horrified Swiss rejected it by a majority of more than three-to-one.

In Finland last January, the government launched a pilot programme for a "basic income", but it was a timid little thing that gives the participants in the trial just $600 per month. It certainly isn’t universal: it only goes to jobless people who are receiving the lowest level of […]

Automation: Will the robots ruin us?

Automation: Will the robots ruin us?

Once one combines the advances in computing, big data mining, artificial intelligence, speech recognition, driverless vehicles and robotics it’s not too hard to foresee that the impacts of the digital technology revolution may have, to date, been simply a clearing of the throat.

Don’t just take my word for it, A 2016 report titled Technology at Work v2.0: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be , prepared for global finance giant Citi, stated that "a job is considered to be ‘exposed to automation’ or ‘automatable’ if the tasks it entails allows the work to be performed by a […]

Machines Should Only Do What Humans Cannot: Jack Ma

Machines Should Only Do What Humans Cannot: Jack Ma

Can machines take over the jobs of humans? The long-standing war between machines and humans to establish one’s supremacy over the other has gotten aggressive with the soaring number of layoffs in not just start-ups, but also in top-notch, multinational companies (MNCs).

The internet boom and the impact of machine learning in businesses have dealt a body blow to the employment rate, which, in turn, is affecting the economy drastically.

In his speech at a conference on entrepreneurship in Zhengzhou, China, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd . Chairman Jack Ma said the society should be prepared for decades of pain as the […]

A top Silicon Valley investor predicts robots will change our economy ‘on the order of the Industrial Revolution’

A top Silicon Valley investor predicts robots will change our economy 'on the order of the Industrial Revolution'

The robots are coming. Chris McGrath/Getty In San Francisco, you can order food from your favorite taqueria and have it delivered by a self-driving bot , or grab a latté from a robot-powered coffee kiosk.

Robots are joining the workforce in droves, and their arrival threatens to take away a number of jobs held by humans.

Sam Altman, president of startup accelerator Y Combinator, recently warned a crowd at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club that virtually no jobs are safe. Altman, who founded a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company, OpenAI, with Elon Musk, called on the tech industry to find solutions for […]

Will automation become the next job killer?

Will automation become the next job killer?

Automation is on track to become the ultimate job killer. In fact, much like the industrial revolution 200 years ago, the automation of human tasks is revolutionising both the workplace and society. What this means for the manufacturing sector can be both thrilling and frightening depending on whose point of view you take.

According to a recent article in phys.org, the fear of losing our jobs to machines is not new. With some forecasts indicating that within 20 years, 35 per cent of all UK jobs are at risk of vanishing from automation, it might be a good time to […]

Automation Could Replace Over 99% of U.S. Jobs Sooner Than You Think

Automation Could Replace Over 99% of U.S. Jobs Sooner Than You Think

Robots Do It Better and Automation Could Eliminate 99% of U.S. Jobs

Until recently, many have feared job losses resulting from an influx of immigrants. That argument says that migrants would be willing to work for less money. Yet, apart from economic studies to the contrary, Americans should worry more about robots taking jobs. Yes, the biggest threat to U.S. jobs comes from automation.

Automation is coming faster than anybody could have predicted. Indeed, nobody could have expected the wave of robots taking over jobs. Consider that robots, or automation, has eliminated just one job in the past 60 […]

Five Questions for David Autor

Five Questions for David Autor

During the presidential campaign, immigration and free trade were largely blamed for stealing American jobs. But more recently, another boogeyman has been gaining attention: the dismayingly capable robot. In a recent talk about the future of work, economist David Autor addresses the question of why there are still so many jobs and comes up with a surprising, hopeful answer. Automation, amped up by artificial intelligence and its potential impact on future employment has sparked research, debate, and disagreement among a wide range of stakeholders. Consulting firm PwC is the latest to jump into the prediction game, arguing in March […]

Rise in flexible working coincides with the rise of robots

Rise in flexible working coincides with the rise of robots

‘Far from the widespread fear that automation will make employees redundant, our research shows that the workplace of the future could create opportunities for more flexible and fulfilling work’ Nick Ismail Adecco, part of The Adecco Group UK&I – a provider of workforce solutions, has launched research which found that almost half of employees (48%) think artificial intelligence (AI) will positively benefit them, by helping them to work more flexibly.

The ‘Humans vs Robots’ report, based on responses from 1,000 board level and senior decision makers and over 1,000 workers in 13 sectors across the UK, revealed the potential impact […]