Tag: consumption

Let’s stop pretending. Automation will annihilate jobs and this is goddamn fantastic.

Let’s stop pretending. Automation will annihilate jobs and this is goddamn fantastic.

The creator of jobs is innovation and the destroyer of jobs is automation — there is no natural reason for these to balance each other out

I’ve been seeing a lot of op-ed type articles recently about how automation will not have a net negative impact on jobs, but may actually create more of them. See here , here and here .

In the long term, this is ridiculous. It all boils down to the fundamental economic equation of supply equals demand. Another way of saying this is: we must consume as much as we produce. In the equation below, […]

Growth pangs

Growth pangs

India’s GDP forecast of 6.5 per cent is an impressive number but sadly not enough

The most remarkable achievement in terms of economic progress of the past quarter-century has been China. The People’s Republic of China cast of years of Mao’s idiosyncratic policies and opened up. As a result of this, not only has China become a global economic powerhouse, but it has successfully managed to raise hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and deprivation. One could argue that Chinese economic growth is not equitable, much of the profit has been taken by those who know the […]

Sexual harassment backlash and crypto currency frenzy: top trends for 2018

Sexual harassment backlash and crypto currency frenzy: top trends for 2018

2018 will be a year fraught with celebrity scandal, economic upheaval and leaps forward in applied technology, if a Sydney-based entrepreneur is to be believed. Here are some of futurist Ross Dawson’s top predictions.

In 2018 we’ll see further breakthroughs involving gene editing technology , as the first human clinical trials involving CRISPR gene editing begin in the US and Europe.

The trials, which are aimed at fixing genetic diseases in the US and Europe, will bring us closer to a future where genetic engineering could be used for non-medical purposes. It could even see the rise of so-called "designer babies". […]

Universal Basic Income – More than just fighting robots

Universal Basic Income - More than just fighting robots

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are here to stay. They’ll only become more and more efficient and intelligent. It’s not unnatural to ask the question: will these robots make us all redundant one day? Only time can tell how the future unfolds. The question to ask now is: what to do?

After World War II, it became a necessity for housewives to join the labour force. Mass education disturbed traditional professions and way of life. As children of farmers and artisans got educated, they entered their parents’ profession less and less. As a necessity, these sectors became mechanised and slowly […]

Universal Basic Income – More than just fighting robots

Universal Basic Income - More than just fighting robots

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are here to stay. They’ll only become more and more efficient and intelligent. It’s not unnatural to ask the question: will these robots make us all redundant one day? Only time can tell how the future unfolds. The question to ask now is: what to do?

After World War II, it became a necessity for housewives to join the labour force. Mass education disturbed traditional professions and way of life. As children of farmers and artisans got educated, they entered their parents’ profession less and less. As a necessity, these sectors became mechanised and slowly […]

Racing the Machine

Racing the Machine

Economists have always believed that previous waves of job destruction led to an equilibrium between supply and demand in the labor market at a higher level of both employment and earnings. But if robots can actually replace, not just displace, humans, it is hard to see an equilibrium point until the human race itself becomes redundant.

LONDON – Dispelling anxiety about robots has become a major preoccupation of business apologetics. The commonsense – and far from foolish – view is that the more jobs are automated, the fewer there will be for humans to perform. The headline example is the […]

Artificial Intelligence to Transform Workplace Sooner Than Expected

Artificial Intelligence to Transform Workplace Sooner Than Expected

Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are already changing businesses around the world. In many ways, that’s good news. But it also poses some tough questions – and challenges. A new McKinsey report helps guide the way into the future. December 10, 2017 – We are entering a massive workplace shift that will be marked by rapid advances in automation and artificial intelligence. New research from McKinsey & Co. finds that between 75 million and 375 million workers globally will have to switch occupational categories and learn new skills in just the next 12 years because of automation and […]

Automation: The Good News and the Bad

Automation: The Good News and the Bad

Jobs Will Be Lost And Jobs Will Be Gained; Business Will See Significant Benefits

JOB TRAINING: It’ll have to be a government priority, to deal with the effects of automation. There is bad news and good news for workers when it comes to automation , says a recent McKinsey report on the subject.

The bad news is that 30 percent of work activities in 60 percent of occupations globally could be automated. The good news is that the actual proportion of work automation will likely be lower—due to technical, economic, and social factors—and that automation will create new occupations that […]

800 million jobs wiped by 2030

800 million jobs wiped by 2030

Where did my job go? Some 800 million jobs displaced in thirteen years sounds unthinkable, but it could be on the horizon.

The study, Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation , from management consultancy McKinsey Global, assessed the number and types of jobs that may be lost and created under different scenarios in 2030 using data from 46 countries and 800 occupations.

The findings confirm that automation is set to cause significant disruption to today’s workforce – but even McKinsey struggled to put an exact number on it.“In about 60 percent of occupations, at least one-third […]

Automation may require as many as 375 million people to find new jobs by 2030

Automation may require as many as 375 million people to find new jobs by 2030

Fears that automation and machine learning will cause massive job losses and make people obsolete are starting to wane (well, unless you ask Stephen Hawking ). Instead, there’s a more optimistic prediction taking hold: that the new technology could actually lead to job gains. But the transition won’t be easy.

By 2030, up to 30% of the hours worked globally could be automated, according to a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute . Analysts in the consultancy’s research arm estimate that between 400 million and 800 million people could find themselves displaced by automation and in need of new […]