Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Automation: The Real Job Killer of American Manufacturing

Automation: The Real Job Killer of American Manufacturing

I am an optimistic believer in the possibility of an America which can move forward unified, despite the differences we have in race, class, education, the list goes on ad infinitum. But first, I need to try to understand the people who I did not agree with on Election Day. This section of the population, I may have little in common with on a core issue that does not directly affect me. A healthy future depends on how well we try to understand one another regardless of our differences.

In this two part series, I set out to explore job […]

Chart: Amazon robots on the rise, gaining slowly but steadily on human workforce

Chart: Amazon robots on the rise, gaining slowly but steadily on human workforce

Amazon’s workforce has exploded in recent years, more than doubling since the end of 2014, when it employed 154,000 people. As of the latest count , there were 306,000 employees working worldwide for the Seattle tech giant.

But another group is growing at an even faster rate than the company’s human workforce: the number of robots working alongside people in Amazon fulfillment centers. The company said this week that it has 45,000 “robotic units” operating in 20 distribution centers working with people to fill and ship customer orders.

The number is up 50 percent from the 30,000 bots that Amazon reported […]

The Social Contract Spotlights Automation and Immigration

The Social Contract Spotlights Automation and Immigration

A few months ago, I worked with The Social Contract quarterly to produce an issue with a section discussing the topic of how automation affects America’s need for immigration. The result was the Fall 2016 issue, subtitled “When Robots Replace Humans.”

After writing dozens of blogs for LimitsToGrowth.org about rapidly advancing automation , robots and computer software , my aim was to produce a series of basic articles that would introduce the subject as a whole to readers who might not have realized the effect of technology on today’s workplace. Many people understand that automation is a growing element […]

Will your job be automated? Nearly half in Idaho will be in the next 20 years

Will your job be automated? Nearly half in Idaho will be in the next 20 years

The robots haven’t taken over — yet.

Technology already is changing work force and how jobs are done throughout industries. The state may be a long way out from life as portrayed on “The Jetsons,” but one study projects that many jobs are at high risk of becoming mostly automated in the next 10 to 20 years.

Automation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Clear Springs Foods in Buhl has found that machines can help employees.“It’s really made people’s jobs easier,” spokeswoman Callie Grindstaff said. “We’re really trying to inform people that manufacturing is way different than it used to be.”Machines […]

How will robotics propel our economy?

How will robotics propel our economy?

Today’s reality is beginning to look a lot like the realm of sci-fi movies.

We may not have flying automobiles (yet), but driverless cars are already roaming beyond the streets of Silicon Valley. Airborne drones help farmers increase yields and reduce crop damage, and warehouse robots are the workhorses of the most efficient e-commerce distribution channels. Automation is changing the way we do business, the way we work and the way we live.

Technology has always been an essential driver of human progress, enhancing quality of life on an individual level and economic productivity for our society as a whole. The […]

How Robots, Automation Will Impact Employment in the U.S.

How Robots, Automation Will Impact Employment in the U.S.

Thirty of the world’s top scientists are scheduled to meet at the University of California at San Diego in February to discuss the toughest challenges in robotics and automation.

Henrik Christensen, director of the Contextual Robotics Institute at UC San Diego, discusses the impacts of robots in the workplace. (K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)

(TNS) — Thirty of the world’s top scientists are scheduled to meet at the University of California at San Diego in February to discuss the toughest challenges in robotics and automation, including how to make driverless cars safe for a mass audience.The experts are being brought together […]

‘Why Are We Doing This to Ourselves?’ Readers Respond to the Threat of Automation

‘Why Are We Doing This to Ourselves?’ Readers Respond to the Threat of Automation

How do we deal with the job losses caused by automation? Offer a universal basic income? Halt the march of technology? Shorten the workweek? Get more education — or a different kind of it? Raise the minimum wage — or lower it?

Get used to these questions.

Readers had a lot to say in response to an article about what many economists believe is a crisis of our times: how to support the people who are out of work because their jobs have been or will soon be automated. It is a bigger long-term cause of job loss than trade, offshoring […]

Will 2017 be the turning point for robots and jobs?

Will 2017 be the turning point for robots and jobs?

Can Donald Trump prevent robots from taking over our jobs? Evan Vucci / AP Photo A new year generally starts off a bit like a shooting star, trailing a dazzling series of predictions, some of which are more likely to come true than others. So too with 2017. Some of the most powerful prophecies for the year involve technology and innovation, their effect on jobs and the need for political solutions to manage transition.

What is tomorrow’s world expected to look like? Different, certainly. Economists say there will be many more driverless vehicles on the roads (both cars and lorries), […]

46 percent of Idaho jobs could be automated in 10 years — Which jobs could be affected?

46 percent of Idaho jobs could be automated in 10 years — Which jobs could be affected?

Technology has already impacted Idaho’s work force, changing how jobs are done throughout industries. The state may be a long way out from life as portrayed on "The Jetsons," but one study projects that many jobs are at high risk of becoming mostly automated in the next 10 to 20 years.

Automation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Clear Springs Foods in Buhl has found that machines can help employees.

“It’s really made people’s jobs easier,” spokeswoman Callie Grindstaff said. “We’re really trying to inform people that manufacturing is way different than it used to be.”Machines that de-bone trout and perform […]

Paul Wallace: Don’t fear the robots; they won’t kill jobs

Rogue One, the latest in the Star Wars franchise, has had mixed reviews but features one undisputed star: K-2SO, a gangly robot with the best lines. Movies of the distant future always tap into current anxieties – and the latest alarm is that the robots are coming. Droids may not conquer the world, but they will take over its work – white-collar as well as blue-collar. Could these filmmakers know something we don’t?

Previous scares, such as when Time magazine reported on “the automation jobless” in the early 1960s, were just that. But many technology gurus insist that this time […]