Tag: academic

Interview: Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB

Interview: Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB

Ulrich Spiesshofer, the boss of one of the world’s largest automation companies talks to Jon Excell about collaboration, innovation, and why we shouldn’t fear the robots

The rapid march of automation and robotics is a divisive trend. For some, it’s a destructive force that threatens jobs and even entire professions. Others trumpet its productivity-boosting powers and the trickle-down benefits this brings to the wider economy.

There are no prizes for guessing where CEO of power and automation giant ABB Ulrich Spiesshofer sits on this. On a recent visit to the UK he explained to The Engineer why he believes we […]

Automation, robots and the ‘end of work’ myth

Automation, robots and the ‘end of work’ myth

Can you imagine travelling to work in a robotic “ Jonnycab ” like the one predicted in the cult Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Total Recall ? The image from 1990 is based on science fiction, but Mercedes Benz does have a semi-autonomous Driver Pilot system that it aims to install in the next five years and Uber is also waging on a self-driving future. Its partnership with Volvo has been seen as a boost to its ambitions to replace a fleet of self-employed drivers with autonomous vehicles .

Jonnycab might belong to futurology but if MIT academics Erik Brynjolfson and Andrew […]

3 reasons to think twice before injecting AI into your branding

3 reasons to think twice before injecting AI into your branding

Image Credit: viewfinder/shutterstock “Artificial intelligence” (AI) is an opaque term with no commonly agreed definition and a disputed scope. We routinely use it to represent a range of diverse technologies that have the power to bring disruptive changes around the world. Whether businesses understand the complexities or not, many are scrambling to incorporate “AI” into their practices and their branding.

Given the current buzz around the term, surely it makes sense to capitalize on the interest. Why wouldn’t you want people looking at your company to immediately think “AI”?

Although advancements in AI continue unabated, some experts have been warning for […]

Economists grapple with the future of the labour market

Economists grapple with the future of the labour market

WHY is productivity growth low if information technology is advancing rapidly? Prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, this question has in recent years again become one of the hottest in economics. Its salience has grown as techies have become convinced that machine learning and artificial intelligence will soon put hordes of workers out of work (among tech-moguls, Bill Gates has called for a robot tax to deter automation, and Elon Musk for a universal basic income). A lot of economists think that a surge in productivity that would leave millions on the scrapheap is unlikely soon, if at […]

Economists grapple with the future of the labour market

Economists grapple with the future of the labour market

WHY is productivity growth low if information technology is advancing rapidly? Prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, this question has in recent years again become one of the hottest in economics. Its salience has grown as techies have become convinced that machine learning and artificial intelligence will soon put hordes of workers out of work (among tech-moguls, Bill Gates has called for a robot tax to deter automation, and Elon Musk for a universal basic income). A lot of economists think that a surge in productivity that would leave millions on the scrapheap is unlikely soon, if at […]

The Future of Work, a History

The Future of Work, a History

announced, “MARCH OF THE MACHINE MAKES IDLE HANDS,” with the subhead: “Prevalence of Unemployment With Greatly Increased Industrial Output Points to the Influence of Labor-Saving Devices as an Underlying Cause.”

What these alarming words referred to was the abundance of goods being produced in the roaring plants, mills and farm fields of 1920s America. According to a variety of statistics cited and charted by the Times , what Americans could now make was beginning to outstrip what they could consume, to the point of diminishing employment.

“More and more the finger of suspicion points to the machine,” the Times reporter, Evan […]

Rise of the robots: Automation risk to more jobs as minimum wage increases warns IFS

Rise of the robots: Automation risk to more jobs as minimum wage increases warns IFS

Restaurant waiters are actually at lower risk from automation than some other occupations, the IFS said (Source: Getty) Higher minimum wage levels could tempt British employers to automate more jobs, risking a rise in unemployment, respected economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) will today warn.

In research to be published today, the IFS will call for “extremely careful monitoring” of the effects of government increases to the minimum wage as more jobs which could be replaced by machines fall into the law’s scope.

The proportion of over-25 employees on the minimum wage will have tripled between 2015 and 2020 […]

For Artificial Intelligence, the Future Is Now

For Artificial Intelligence, the Future Is Now

Watershed technologies like AlphaGo make it easy to forget that artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just a futuristic dream. It’s already here — and we interact with it every day.

Sensing traffic lights, fraud detection, mobile bank deposits, and, of course, internet search — each of these technologies involves AI of some kind. As we have grown used to AI in these instances, it has become part of the scenery — we see it, but we no longer notice it. Expect that trend to continue: As AI grows increasingly ubiquitous, it’ll become increasingly invisible.

Major advancements in technologies dependent on AI — […]

The Verge 2017 tech report card: Artificial intelligence and robotics

The Verge 2017 tech report card: Artificial intelligence and robotics

Artificial intelligence boomed this year like few other areas in tech, but despite the scientific breakthroughs, glut of funding, and new products rolling out to consumers, the field has problems that can’t be ignored. Some of these, like company-driven hype and sensationalist headlines, need better communication from the media and experts. Others challenges are more nuanced and will take longer to address , such as bias in algorithms and the growing threat of tech firms becoming AI monopolies as they hoover up data and talent.

But first, the good stuff. Artificial intelligence was everywhere in 2017, and although you’re right […]

Future of automation technology

com free digital version print version 8,00 € printed in Germany 16© iStockphoto. Automation And Progress in the 21st Century In 2012, the United States Congress enacted the Move Ahead for Progress in the 21st century A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds realizing automation’s full potential requires people and technology to Harnessing automation for a future that The maritime industry has perhaps been slower than most to embrace container terminal automation, however, confidence inautomation technology is now at its highest What is the scope of PLC and automation training as a future career? What is the best place […]