Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Robotics technology for picking farm produce

Robotics technology for picking farm produce

Farm workers in India. Picture by Vinoth Chandar By Nandini Kranti

The use of robotics technology in industrial systems is quite common, but in the agricultural sector, robotics and automation technology still retains a novelty and fascination, and is still to make a widespread impact on labor-intensive tasks.

The discussion on man versus machine has come too far. Artificial intelligence was the key addition that tipped scales in favor of the latter. Precise and iterative line functions in industrial processes are handled by well-programmed robots.Material handling is seldom an issue in this setup since a great deal of […]

Alarming speculations

Alarming speculations

The writer is the editor and translator of Why I write: Essays by Saadat Hasan Manto, published by Westland in 2014. His book, India, Low Trust Society, will be published by Random House. He is Executive Director of Amnesty International India. The views expressed here are his own. aakar.patel@tribune.com.pk There has been some worrying news on the side of the economy which has remained confined to the business newspapers. It concerns India’s large information technology and software industry and companies like Infosys, TCS and Wipro. These firms, which were expanding quickly for the last two decades, have all slowed […]

More than a quarter of all Spokane County jobs fall below the Initiative 1433 minimum wage threshhold

More than a quarter of all Spokane County jobs fall below the Initiative 1433 minimum wage threshhold

News More than a quarter of the jobs in Spokane County pay less than $12.23 an hour. Initiative 1433 would change that, impacting fast food joints and coffee stands in particular. We’ve written a lot about the minimum-wage hikes proposed by Initiative 1433 — reaching $13.50 by 2020 — but so far, we haven’t really gotten into just how big that change would be for Spokane County.

In other words, just how many local jobs would have their pay structure altered because of the initiative? And how much would that cost local businesses?

This week, Anneliese Vance-Sherman, the regional economist for […]

Robots Could Push ‘Fight For 15’ Backers Out Of Work

Robots Could Push 'Fight For 15' Backers Out Of Work

(Chelsea Cody) Someday C-3PO and R2-D2 could be taking your fast-food restaurant order and cooking your burger and fries instead of saving the galaxy in "Star Wars."

Before you say, "I have a bad feeling about this," consider the current business and technology trends.

The political push to raise the minimum wage nationwide to $15 an hour has motivated many restaurants and other businesses with low-skilled workers to think about replacing some human staff with automation and robots.At the same time, such technology is improving by leaps and bounds and costs are coming down. IBD’S TAKE: There always are some good […]

Technology & Automation: Only Humans Need Apply

Technology & Automation: Only Humans Need Apply

Most experts nowadays fear technology. The rapid automation happening in the industrial sector has become a cause for concern for many policy planners because of the huge unemployment that automation creates when it displaces the workers. As a technologist, I certainly want technology to continue progressing. Productive use of technology happens when machines are used to ease the lives of human beings by means of automation. The role of technological progress should be to ease the lives of human beings through automation of strenuous and repetitive operations. However, as a macroeconomist, I am equally concerned about ensuring full-employment in […]

Indian Government Warns Its Citizens of Significant Job Losses due to Robotics

Indian Government Warns Its Citizens of Significant Job Losses due to Robotics

The robot chef from the Easy Living scene in Horizons at EPCOT Center New Delhi (Sputnik) — Anant Geete, Indian Minister for Heavy Industries, says, “Though the government feel pushing the industrial sector will lead to creation of more job opportunities but the upcoming robotics technology might lead to significant job losses.”

This statement comes at a time when the Modi government has reeled under huge pressure to create jobs for millions. The government in response started its ambitious “Make in India” program to create jobs, but most of the manufacturing companies are moving towards automation, increasing fears of reduction […]

No, American Manufacturing Isn’t Really Booming

No, American Manufacturing Isn't Really Booming

Fiat Chrysler’s Warren, Michigan stamping plant. Employment in manufacturing peaked in the U.S. in June 1979, at almost 19.6 million jobs. This September, that was down to 12.3 million (these numbers are seasonally adjusted).

That fall in employment tells us a lot about today’s American political and economic life. It helps explain why regions that were heavily reliant on manufacturing have been struggling so much, why older Americans without college degrees are so cranky, why labor unions are so weak. But does it mean that American manufacturing is in decline?

An answer frequently offered by wonky economics journalists is that, no, […]

Futurist predicts farming drones, driverless streets

Futurist predicts farming drones, driverless streets

(Photo: Special to The Register) What will Iowa’s farms look like when the combines and tractors drive themselves?

How will Des Moines’ banking and insurance sectors fare when supercomputers run financial markets?

Where will Iowans live when a self-driving car can take them anywhere with the tap of a smartphone?These are the kind of questions Thomas Frey ponders.Frey is the founder of the DaVinci Institute, a Colorado-based think tank, and a futurist whose predictions and TED Talks have made headlines in numerous publications.He is speaking Friday in Johnston at a regional breakfast hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The event, […]

No, U.S. Manufacturing Isn’t Really Booming

No, U.S. Manufacturing Isn't Really Booming

Employment in manufacturing peaked in the U.S. in June 1979, at almost 19.6 million jobs. This September, that was down to 12.3 million (these numbers are seasonally adjusted).

That fall in employment tells us a lot about today’s American political and economic life. It helps explain why regions that were heavily reliant on manufacturing have been struggling so much, why older Americans without college degrees are so cranky, why labor unions are so weak. But does it mean that American manufacturing is in decline?

An answer frequently offered by wonky economics journalists is that, no, U.S. manufacturing output has actually kept […]

Should we really be concerned with automation overtaking human jobs?

Should we really be concerned with automation overtaking human jobs?

The Henn-na hotel opened its doors to the public last year, and is yet to pay its receptionist staff a single penny in salary. How have they gotten away with this? Well, as it turns out, velociraptors dressed in bow ties and bellhop hats will work for you for free. More accurately, though, it’s because 90 percent of the hotel staff are robots.

As automation technology continues to proliferate almost all areas of work, concerns have begun to surface over the security of human jobs. The Henn-na hotel is a prime example of this — rooms cost just £36 per […]