Main Blog Page

How robots will change the American workforce

How robots will change the American workforce

Let’s Make San Diego ‘Robot Valley’. Henrik Christensen, director of the Contextual Robotics Institute at UC San Diego discusses the affect of robots in the workpalce. Thirty of the world’s top scientists will meet at UC San Diego in February to discuss the toughest challenges in robotics and automation, including making driverless cars safe for a mass audience.

The researchers are being brought together by Henrik Christensen, the prominent Georgia Tech engineer who was hired in July to run UC San Diego’s young Contextual Robotics Institute.

Christensen said at the time, “I want to build a research institute that, ideally, will […]

Automation Doesn’t Always Kill Jobs. Sometimes, It Adds Them.

Automation Doesn't Always Kill Jobs. Sometimes, It Adds Them.

‘When the University of Maine at Augusta launched its first noncredit course for commercial drone pilots in October, the seats quickly filled up. Among the 37 students are a cattle rancher, a construction company executive, a photojournalist, and several realtors.

‘“We are a bit of a motley crew,” says Tom Abbott, project manager for the university’s drone pilot training center, who is also taking the course. When they finish in mid-December, the students can take a test for federal certification to operate commercial drones, which are now being used in trials for everything from inspecting Maine’s potato crops to delivering […]

Why Universal Basic Income can’t work on its own

Why Universal Basic Income can’t work on its own

In my last column, “How Trump Can Save American Democracy,” I wrote of the importance of finding creative, forward-looking solutions to the unemployment problem in America, specifically of rural Middle America, that has been most affected by economic decline and deindustrialization. I stressed that this is paramount to directing the course of American society towards positive change and calming the currents of nativism that have been arising. I suggested that if Trump is to succeed in fulfilling the unattended needs of his core constituency, he must not rely on bringing back industry or trying to create new jobs where […]

Nimai Mehta, “A universal basic income to step up economic reform”

Nimai Mehta, “A universal basic income to step up economic reform”

Universal basic income (UBI) has been receiving an increasing amount of attention in India –including from the national government, with the Chief Economic Adviser having announced that UBI will be examined as part of the country’s next Economic Survey .

Within the government, UBI tends to be viewed chiefly as a way to overcome the inefficiencies and corruption that plague existing programs of social welfare. Some academic economists, including Abhijit V. Banerjee (MIT) and Pranab Bardhan (UC-Berkeley), have also emphasized the efficiency of UBI in comparison to India’s current welfare state. CC BY 2.0 nevil zaveri One critic of this […]

British Medical Journal calls for a study of universal basic income

Recently, there have been increasing calls for dialogue on a universal basic income (UBI) from political parties, think tanks (including the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA)), civic activists, trade unions, and leading entrepreneurs such as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. These calls are a response to growing income insecurity, some sense that welfare systems may be failing, and as a preparation for the potential effects of automation and artificial intelligence on employment prospects in industries that might be better served by machines. 3 UBI-style pilots are planned in Finland, the Netherlands, and Canada […]

Beyond the Factory Floor: The Changing Work Force

Beyond the Factory Floor: The Changing Work Force

The other day, I looked into a mirror and suddenly realized that my mother was looking back.

It sneaks up on you.

Most of us don’t notice the day-to-day changes in ourselves, or our environments, unless something triggers that recognition. That is especially true of the inexorable increase in automation–and it matters, because it is automation, far more than trade, that has eliminated so many American jobs. And that automation isn’t limited to spiffy robots on a factory floor; it is all around us.When I first started to drive, gas station attendants pumped my gas and cleaned my windshield. These days, […]

Trump’s Carrier Deal is Even More of a Fraud Than We Thought

Trump’s Carrier Deal is Even More of a Fraud Than We Thought

Though Donald Trump will likely never stop bragging about the handful of jobs he negotiated to save at a Carrier manufacturing plant in Indiana, but though there are several major holes in his hero narrative, one major one has just been discovered that should put Trump’s bragging to an end for good.

According to CNBC , the carrier plant plans to use investments into the company in order to automate the factory, eventually resulting in the loss of many more jobs than any overseas move might have caused.

United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes admitted to CNBC ‘s Jim Cramer that the […]

$10 Million Project to Study Basic Income Programs Launched

$10 Million Project to Study Basic Income Programs Launched

The Economic Security Project , a coalition of more than a hundred tech entrepreneurs, investors, and activists, has announced a two-year, $10 million project to explore how a universal "basic income" (UBI) could provide economic opportunity for all.

ESP signatories who have committed to "think seriously about how recurring, unconditional cash stipends could work, how to pay for them, and what the political path might be to make them a reality" include Y Combinator president Sam Altman, Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase, Institute for the Future fellow and "work instigator" Natalie Foster, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, Niskanen Center policy […]

Basic Income and Ontario’s Pilot Consultations: Ten Benefits of Basic Income

VibrantCanada.ca – blogs/alison-homer/basic-income-and-ontarios-pilot-consultations-ten-benefits-basic-income?
December 7, 2016. ALISON HOMER

Get Involved and Have your Say!
A Basic Income model is an innovative approach to providing income security. It guarantees all of its citizens a regular predictable income sufficient to live a basic but dignified life.The idea of a Basic Income has been around for a long time. The idea of a minimum income first appeared at the beginning of the 16th century < http://basicincome.org/basic-income/history/ >, and a pilot was conducted in Canada in 1974 < http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cpp.37.3.283 >. To gain a basic understanding of Basic Income, the Basic Income in Canada Network’s Frequently […]

America Faces Catastrophic Employment Numbers

America Faces Catastrophic Employment Numbers

We’re Hiring sign (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) Americans continue to drop out of the labor market as employment numbers reach catastrophic levels, warned a panel of experts Thursday.

The economy has lost a staggering percentage of its workforce over the decades. The number of people employed or looking for work as a percentage of the population sits at only 62.7 percent. Experts warned during the panel discussion that the numbers show a quiet catastrophe.

“I’m not trying to be hyperbolic in describing this as a quiet catastrophe or calamity,” American Enterprise Institute Economist Nicholas Eberstadt said. “From 1965 to the present […]