Tag: consumption

Automation vs. jobs and human contact

Automation vs. jobs and human contact

Igor Faletski is CEO of Mobify, a Vancouver company working on mobile technology. In the future of retail, it is likely that bricks-and-mortar stores and online commerce will merge into a seamless and convenient entity, says Vancouver tech entrepreneur Igor Faletski.

As CEO of the Vancouver-based online-commerce platform Mobify, Faletski has had a front-row view of the trend toward using technology to create a “frictionless transaction” that maximizes convenience for consumers while minimizing the amount of time they spend waiting in line.

“The days of a retail store as a place where you have inventory, you sell it and take money […]

Haunting Photos Depict the Hardships of Global Labor

With powerful images of workers from around the world, the exhibition Labor & Materials explores the evolution of work and industry in the 21st century. In art ranging from collage to photographs, the show examines how the scale and speed of technology impacts the production of goods and services. Its goal is to lift the veil on the inequalities that exist around the world in the production of modern conveniences like smartphones and computers.

The art featured in this multimedia exhibition hint at the contradictions of modernity and its expected efficiencies. And they raise the question, “At whose expense?” Through […]

Trump’s deplorable vision for US steel industry

Trump's deplorable vision for US steel industry

When US President Donald Trump met executives from US steel and aluminum industries last Thursday to announce his tariffs on imports, he said "we’re going to build our steel industry back and we’re going to build our aluminum industry back".

"I remember when I was growing up, US Steel, that was the ultimate company. And today, you have so many closed plants," said Trump, with David Burritt, president and chief executive officer of the US Steel sitting next to him.

Trump was right. US Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was once the largest steel producer and the largest corporation in the […]

Saanich seniors pack a powerful demographic punch

Saanich seniors pack a powerful demographic punch

According to the latest census, Saanich is home to 23,715 people 65 years and older – about 20.7 per cent of the total population. (Saanich News file photo) By many measures, today’s seniors live longer, wealthier and healthier lives than seniors at any other time in history.

Consider the numbers. In 1921, life expectancy for Canadian men at birth was 58.8 years, for women, 60.6 years, according to Statistics Canada. Fifty years later, life expectancy for men had risen to 69.4 years, for women to 76.5 years. In 2017, life expectancy for men had reached 79 years, for women 83. […]

Outlook for Trucking is Stellar, ATA Economist Says

Outlook for Trucking is Stellar, ATA Economist Says

The trucking industry is seeing the best economic climate since deregulation, according to Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations.

Speaking at the opening session of Omnitracs’ Outlook 2018 user conference in Nashville on Feb. 26, Costello said the trucking industry should face smooth sailing over the next year or two. “This is a growing environment,” he said, noting that the economy is in its third-longest expansion in history— which is on track to becoming the second-longest by springtime. From a macroeconomic view, the two key drivers are productivity and population growth, he said, […]

‘Rise of the machines’ drives push for ‘universal basic income’

'Rise of the machines' drives push for 'universal basic income'

(Photo: Pixabay) A revolution is coming to America and the world, and it’s threatening workers’ livelihoods, warn big tech moguls and politicians.

It’s an automation apocalypse of sorts, some say, and the trend could plunge many of today’s workers into poverty and even homelessness in the near future.

Humans in a wide range of industries could be rendered useless or inadequate in their fields. Telemarketers, bookkeepers, receptionists, delivery workers, customer support specialists, retail salespeople, cashiers, tax preparers, sports referees, machine operators, truckers, taxi drivers, fast-food cooks and warehouse and factory workers are at exceptional risk of being replaced.Welcome to the Artificial […]

How Will AI Change Work? Here Are 5 Schools of Thought

How Will AI Change Work? Here Are 5 Schools of Thought

Yaroslav Kushta/Getty Images The future of the workforce is one of the biggest issues facing CEOs today. It’s abundantly clear to all that artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and advanced robotics make it possible for machines to take on tasks that once required a person to do them. How should companies prepare, strategically, to thrive in this world?

Views on what to expect vary dramatically. By some accounts, almost half of all jobs in the U.S. economy could be made obsolete. Others have described how intelligent machines will actually create jobs — including entirely new categories of jobs. Some people […]

500,000 workers at risk of being replaced by robots in Northern Ireland over next 10 years: report

500,000 workers at risk of being replaced by robots in Northern Ireland over next 10 years: report

The rise of robotic machinery means manufacturers are increasingly cutting down on manpower, with a negative knock-on effect on employment rates Nearly 500,000 workers in Northern Ireland, from typists to bank clerks, will risk being replaced by technology over the next 10 years, according to a report today.

The knowledge economy index from Connect – part of Catalyst NI – said typists were at the highest risk of being displaced by technology, followed by bank and post office clerks.

But professions such as nursing and teaching were at the lowest risk of being displaced as a result of technological advances.However, the […]

The Good News About Automation

The Good News About Automation

While a new report projects automation will replace many workers in the next 12 years, other changes may spur opportunities for both companies and humans. Automation could replace up to one-third of the global workforce by 2030, according to the latest McKinsey report, Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce Transitions in a Time of Automation . But as staggering as that prediction is, experts say the biggest impact for companies may come from elsewhere in the 160-page study.

The good news is that, even if millions of workers lose their jobs, rising consumption, an aging population’s new demands and the continuation […]

GDP of Ireland could receive a near €50 billion boost from AI

GDP of Ireland could receive a near €50 billion boost from AI

Artificial Intelligence could see Ireland’s GDP raised by just under €50 billion in the next 12 years. A new study also finds that the technology could significantly aid both public and private sector productivity, and even boost jobs in the Republic.

A new report from PwC has stated the case for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Ireland. According to the Big Four professional services firm, AI could add 11.6% – or €48 billion – to Ireland’s GDP by 2030. Analysts calculated this projected impact will be driven largely by the possibility for product enhancements (7.9% of GDP in 2030) increasing […]