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The Pros and Cons of Robot Managers

The Pros and Cons of Robot Managers

How would you feel working for a robot? Although the idea may sound far-fetched, not least because the automation of jobs is usually discussed vis-à-vis unskilled labor rather than management-level positions, it is actually more feasible than most people think. Consider some of the main tasks of managers: e.g., using data to evaluate problems, making better decisions than the team, monitoring team members’ performance, setting relevant goals, and providing accurate feedback. Not only is technology capable of rivaling humans on these core management tasks, it is already playing a pivotal role in helping humans to more effectively accomplish these […]

A universal basic income: the answer to poverty, insecurity, and health inequality?

For four years in the mid-1970s an unusual experiment took place in the small Canadian town of Dauphin. Statistically significant benefits for those who took part included fewer physician contacts related to mental health and fewer hospital admissions for “accident and injury.” Mental health diagnoses in Dauphin also fell. Once the experiment ended, these public health benefits evaporated. 1 What was the treatment being tested? It was what has become known as a basic income—a regular, unconditional payment made to each and every citizen. This ground breaking experiment, an early randomised trial in the social policy sphere, ran out […]

Basic income makes more sense than ever in the Trump era

Basic income makes more sense than ever in the Trump era

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally as part of their “USA Thank You Tour 2016″ in Cincinnati, Ohio, December 1, 2016 . If Donald Trump maxes out his time in the White House, he’ll leave office in 2024.

By that time, economists predict robotics and artificial intelligence will have begun their unstoppable march into American factories. People will start losing their jobs en masse, and it’ll be up to President Trump and his cabinet to devise an economic escape plan.

A growing band of advocates argue it doesn’t have to turn out this way if Trump embraces a radical […]

Environment, Jobs, and President-Elect Trump

While many people around the world are concerned about President-elect Trump’s threat to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, I am far more concerned about the possible signal to American corporations and jurisdictions that enforcement of our air, water, and toxic rules would be relaxed under EPA’s new administrator. Take a trip to India or China if you want to breathe the air of a deregulated economy. China’s airports may look pretty and their trains may run fast, but their air and water are dangerous to breathe or drink.

America has a culture of environmental protection that took us decades […]

Could cutting back paid work mean your kids have paid jobs?

Could cutting back paid work mean your kids have paid jobs?

Jenna Price Around October, they start to get anxious.

Who are they? They are the thousands and thousands of Australian workers who are waiting for their contracts to be renewed. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Pin to Pinterest PIN Link Work situations have changed, with many employees now not sure of the ongoing nature of jobs. Photo: -Oxford- Our adult children don’t have full-time jobs any more. They don’t have permanent jobs any more. They put together what they can, when they can. It makes them insecure about their current circumstance, anxious about the future.

About one-sixth […]

basic income is the utopian version in automation world, and the dystopian version is where millions people become homeless and living day to day eating food from food bank

basic income is the utopian version in automation world, and the dystopian version is where millions people become homeless and living day to day eating food from food bank

One big concern with homelessness and unemployment is a subset of these people will become angry about their situation and correctly blame others, becoming or supporting subversive elements in society through a desire for ANY change, because their situation will be so bad.

That’s the difference between what we’ve got now, those dystopian societies, and Basic Income.

1) Super-Dystopian Society: Food Banks, if you’re lucky, hunted by corpo-AIs, death squads, rampant crime, etc. Persons in this society have only violence as a tool to inflict change or try and better themselves, because all civil economic and political opportunities are restricted.2) What […]

Panasonic Takes Item Out of Bagging Area: Human

OSAKA, Japan— Panasonic Corp. is introducing convenience-store checkout machines that can scan and bag items on their own, joining Amazon.com Inc. in the push for more retail automation.

In the Panasonic system, demonstrated here Monday, a special shopping basket is designed to detect the merchandise in the basket and calculate the bill. After a customer places the basket in a slot, the bottom of the basket slides out and the merchandise drops into a plastic bag underneath, ready to be carried away. Customers can pay with cash or a card.

The system “could bring a revolution to the broader retailing industry,” […]

Unite support’s a Citizens Basic Income!

Unite support's a Citizens Basic Income!

President, Tameside TUC, (in a personal capacity). IN this country and abroad, we are seeing a growing interest in the idea of a guaranteed universal unconditional basic income scheme for all citizens. What seems to be driving such initiatives, is the realisation that the world of work is becoming more precarious with jobs under threat from technology and automation. The Bank of England now estimates that as many as 15 million jobs are under threat from technology and a third of jobs in the retail sector, are predicted to disappear by 2025, due to such things as online shopping.

Another […]

Will basic income lower crime?

Will basic income lower crime?

This week, I had the opportunity to be a guest on New York University’s Students for Criminal Justice Reform podcast . I spoke with Thurston Powers about the positive effects a basic income may have on American society.

One often overlooked potential benefit is the effect of basic income on crime rates. I noted that a basic income could create more stable households and increase the likelihood of parents spending time with their children. Unstable and low-income households are linked with creating long-term issues for children that grow up in these situations.

Those that critically point out single mothers work slightly […]

Cobotisation – the solution to Industry 4.0 in Singapore

Traditionally, robots sit in the factory within a finite space and with fixed rules, a safe distance away from its human operators. Today, the capabilities of robots have grown and humans and robots can almost work hand in hand. This may have resulted in the fear of robots for taking over jobs or the loss of the "human touch".

Against the backdrop of the tightening labour market and rising manpower costs, adopting robotic technology could potentially boost productivity, in addition to strengthening competitiveness and generating growth, whilst retaining staff employment. Studies have shown that robotics and automation have made a […]