Tag: consumption

Why Are Politicians Looking At Universal Basic Income?3 min read

Why Are Politicians Looking At Universal Basic Income?3 min read

In a 2018 poll, nearly half of Americans supported the idea of a Universal Basic Income program. This model that was created in hopes to increase equality and reduce poverty has been gaining popularity over time, dating back as early as 1516 with Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’ philosophy. Following More’s ideas on the benefits of a minimum income, Thomas Paine proposed a plan in 1796 to provide a basic endowment for all adults over 21 years of age. And if those names don’t ring a bell, in 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. was convinced that a guaranteed income is a […]

‘Cruel changes’ ahead as automation comes for employment, Forrester says

'Cruel changes' ahead as automation comes for employment, Forrester says

Credit: Adobe Stock Dive Brief:

By 2030, automation will cut jobs by 29% while contributing as little as 13% to job creation, according to Forrester’s Future of Work report .

Automation will disproportionately impact digital laggards because non-digital workers will be unable to upskill at the rapid pace of change, according to the report. Companies already have a portfolio of intelligent technologies used for automation, though right now the use cases are fragmented and small. Eventually automation will stretch further into new use cases, risks and rewards, according to the report. Designed for 60-second consumption, the CIO Dive newsletter […]

Technology, Automation, and Employment: Will this Time be Different?

Technology, Automation, and Employment: Will this Time be Different?

Technology, Automation, and Employment Western societies have exhibited a continuing worry that automation, particularly automation associated with artificial intelligence, will lead to massive unemployment and the impoverishment of large segments of society. In different epochs, technological change has triggered concerns and social protests. Those concerns date back to the early stages of the industrial revolution and the use of coal-fired weaving machines to automate textile manufacturing, and they continue through to the present-day and adoption of computerized algorithms that “learn” how to automate tasks through the use of data-driven “machine learning.”

In fact, the history of automation affirms that concerns […]

How digital technology could redefine Canada’s economy

How digital technology could redefine Canada’s economy

With foresight, perhaps we can better understand the challenges and opportunities digital technologies present and play a role in shaping our futures.

Digital technologies are changing not only what happens in our economy, they are also changing its fundamental character. At this moment, a 3D printer is producing a human replacement organ using a digital model and the patient’s own cells. As you read this, iron ore is being extracted from a mine in Australia by autonomous machines supervised by a small crew of people more than a thousand kilometres away. While you slept last night, an architectural engineer […]

5 trends defining the future of retail

5 trends defining the future of retail

Shutterstock elenabsl Chinese online retailer JD.com recently launched the first fully automated warehouse, where only four employees are needed to do work that previously required 400. Forty German supermarkets tested using facial recognition technology to serve personalized advertisements to customers waiting in checkout lines. Two hundred ninety companies have committed to ensure 100 percent of their plastic packaging can be reused, recycled or composted by 2025.

As the signals of change above show, retail is changing in complex ways, and the future will look quite different from today. We need to prepare for new challenges — such as job loss […]

Preparing Education for Industry 4.0

Preparing Education for Industry 4.0

The following is an excerpt from “Towards Education 3.0: The Changing Goalposts for Education” by Chris Goldspink & Robert Kay. To download the full white paper and others in the Corwin Educator Series, click here .

Education has always been concerned with preparing children and young people with the skills and capabilities they need for a full and rewarding future. However, within this statement there exists a significant assumption: that we understand what the future will be. History has shown that as a species we are not particularly good at conceiving of futures that are radically different from what […]

Robots might turn out to be great coworkers

Robots might turn out to be great coworkers

In this June 26, 2015, file photo, workers assemble parts next to robot arms at an auto parts manufacture factory in Dafeng city in east China’s Jiangsu province. By Noah Smith / Bloomberg Opinion

The idea that automation will drive up unemployment or drive down wages—in other words, that robots will take people’s jobs—has become almost an article of faith for many Americans.

Everyone can point to instances of automation reducing demand for certain workers. And with so-called artificial intelligence (AI) technology improving rapidly, there’s widespread worry that many humans will simply be made obsolete. News outlets are full of […]

Robots will help people, not replace them

Robots will help people, not replace them

The idea that automation will drive up unemployment or drive down wages — in other words, that robots will take people’s jobs — has become almost an article of faith for many Americans.

Everyone can point to instances of automation reducing demand for certain workers. And with so-called artificial intelligence technology improving rapidly, there’s widespread worry that many humans will simply be made obsolete. News outlets are full of eye-grabbing forecasts of the percentage of jobs that will be replaced.

But those estimates are little more than guesswork. The truth is, nobody knows how many jobs will be replaced by automation, […]

How likely is an eight-hour working week?

How likely is an eight-hour working week?

AP Researchers may have found that eight hours of employment is the most “effective dose” per week for mental wellbeing – but, with the average closer to 40 hours, could cutting down the working week to one day ever become a reality?

The long-term trends look good for the leisure-seeker – at first glance at least. Since the 19th century, working hours have fallen sharply in industrialised nations, partly prompted by the demands made by organised labour.

In the late 1900s, UK workers put in more than 2,500 hours a year on average compared with 1,680 in 2017. But most of […]

Robots Might Turn Out to Be Great Co-Workers

Robots Might Turn Out to Be Great Co-Workers

(Bloomberg Opinion) — The idea that automation will drive up unemployment or drive down wages — in other words, that robots will take people’s jobs — has become almost an article of faith for many Americans. Everyone can point to instances of automation reducing demand for certain workers. And with so-called artificial intelligence technology improving rapidly, there’s widespread worry that many humans will simply be made obsolete. News outlets are full of eye-grabbing forecasts of the percentage of jobs that will be replaced.But those estimates are little more than guesswork. The truth is, nobody knows how many jobs will […]