Tag: consumer

NONFICTION | Software developer argues robots will impact economy

Bob Funk
Contributing writer

For those who worry about the future for their loved ones, and others in general, add another dire prediction to the menu of impending disasters looming over the horizon.
In addition to global warming and natural resource depletion, a crushing national debt, and an arc of political, economic, and social instability across Africa and the Middle East and its causal relationship to global terrorism, now add the rise of robots.Anyone concerned with the future of employment and work should read “The Rise of Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future,” written by Martin Ford, a […]

Automation Technology Will Put 6 To 7.5 Million Jobs In Peril

Automation Technology Will Put 6 To 7.5 Million Jobs In Peril

Technological unemployment is already affecting the prodigious sectors that contribute majorly to the economy. By now, we know that automation can lead to temporary and permanent unemployment in predominantly profitable sectors. The most significant aspect of automation technology powering every industry is due to precise and efficient output. A recent study notes that 4 out of 10 jobs globally would be lost by 2021 due to the growing adoption of automation in every sector. Automation technology and robots already cost millions of jobs in every economy, and Cornerstone capital survey says that this is not just it.

According to a […]

Why Robots Won’t Be Coming for All Our Jobs

Why Robots Won’t Be Coming for All Our Jobs

I’ve had robots on my mind recently, and not in a “Wow, robots will make my life so much easier!” kind of way. More like, “Aaagh! Robots are coming to take the jobs of people in their 50s and 60s!”

The alarm bells rang furiously at a Milken Institute Global Conference panel I recently saw in Los Angeles (“I, Worker: Employment in the Age of Robots). And I just received a new book with the foreboding title, The Robots Are Coming , by John Pugliano, founder and money manager of Investable Wealth.

You may have heard some of the dire forecasts […]

Why being a specialty butcher is a hot job right now

Why being a specialty butcher is a hot job right now

Craft beer makers. “Mixologist” bartenders who have far more up their sleeves than a gin and tonic. Barbers who hark back to a bygone era of style. Butchers who slice and dice their way through entire animals, with a modern focus on sourcing and sustainability. Are these the types of jobs—in fields that have been around for decades, but which have lately taken on a more specialized, artisanal focus—that can power the economy in the coming years?

Richard Ocejo may not quite go that far, but the trend epitomized by those jobs is major and unavoidable, in his eyes. Ocejo […]

Will robots steal all our jobs?

Will robots steal all our jobs?

A robot delivering burgers makes its way in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday. (Fabian Bimmer/Reuters) We have yet another study that debunks the widespread notion that robots — and other forms of automation, including “artificial intelligence” — will destroy our jobs and lead to a future of permanently high unemployment. According to the study, that would completely rewrite history, which has shown job creation to be an enduring strength of the U.S. economy.

The study (”False Alarmism: Technological Disruption and the U.S. Labor Market, 1850-2015”) comes from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank focusing on technology. The […]

Are Robots ‘Stealing’ Productivity from Humans?

Are Robots ‘Stealing’ Productivity from Humans?

Society The good news: Automation is creating factory work for humans, not just destroying it. And working in today’s auto factory is safer and more engaging than ever. The bad news: The U.S. can’t find the right humans for all this new work.

BRINK talked with Ron Harbour, who co-authored and developed (with his late father Jim Harbour) The Harbour Report , the authoritative guide to auto manufacturing worldwide since it debuted in 1981. Harbour still produces The Harbour Report as an analyst with Oliver Wyman .

BRINK: You’ve been watching the automotive industry for decades. Tell me about […]

Automation is the solution—not the problem—when it comes to job creation

Automation is the solution—not the problem—when it comes to job creation

Coming off a record year for sales of robot orders and shipments, Jeff Burnstein, President of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3; Ann Arbor, MI), noted that “automation played a vital role in spurring economic growth in the North American manufacturing and services industries in 2016. We anticipate accelerated growth based on smarter, more connected and more collaborative robots in the coming years.”

According to a 2016 year-end report from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA; Ann Arbor, MI), orders for robots in 2016 spiked 61% in assembly applications, nearly double the number for the food and consumer goods industries (32%). […]

Robots, Automation, and Jobs: A Primer for Policymakers

Robots, Automation, and Jobs: A Primer for Policymakers

Robert D. Atkinson

There is considerable interest, if not consternation, about the potential effects of emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence on employment. There is also considerable confusion about the interaction between automation, technology, and jobs. Here are 13 key points that are important for policymakers to understand about that interaction.

Read Primer There is considerable interest, if not consternation, about the potential effects of emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence on employment. There is also considerable confusion about the interaction between automation, technology, and jobs. Here are 13 key points that are important for […]

Fourth industrial revolution

Fourth industrial revolution

The writer is a South Asia analyst at Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington D.C. BILL Gates made headlines earlier this year when he argued that robots taking away human jobs should be taxed. His argument is that governments have a responsibility to intervene in order to slow down the proliferation of automation, as it has the potential of creating mass unemployment. It is a sign of the times that the person who has made his fortune because of technological innovation is now arguing for the curtailment of coming technologies. Welcome to The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The world has seen three […]

Agbots, next gen farming and how they can teach us about the future of work

Agbots, next gen farming and how they can teach us about the future of work

Technological unemployment is old news for farming. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, people have left the land under the pressure of technological advance. Given the increased discussion about the future of work, the agricultural sector could offer some insight into what happens when machines take jobs.

This is even more true given the sector stands on the verge of another technological revolution, with artificial intelligence, algorithms, robots and other forms of automation set to realign its social and economic foundations. As with any change of this nature, there is likely to be unease but it is difficult to […]