Tag: employment

We need a big bet on technology literacy and education to move America forward

We need a big bet on technology literacy and education to move America forward

Will technology take over our jobs, destabilize our society and democracy? Or can we leverage technology to amplify human purpose and potential?

Technology has created a strange new world. Cats playing piano can now get more attention than political leaders — perhaps deservedly. Artificial intelligence can now generate chillingly compelling “ fake news .” Police are having trouble pulling over Teslas whose drivers are sleeping .

But these effects are small compared with what I believe are the central questions of our time: Will all this accelerating technology — which will generate incredible productivity and wealth — also cause labor […]

How automation could affect employment for women and minorities

How automation could affect employment for women and minorities

As automation technologies advance— from natural language processing and machine learning to self-driving vehicles—the number of jobs, as well as their very nature, will be affected. In the United Kingdom, our research suggests that, with the right actions, women could benefit from the effects of advanced technologies on skills and jobs. In the United States, without concerted effort—including retraining—the impact of automation could heighten existing disparities for African American workers. The two stories that follow look at the magnitude of potential change and steps that could mitigate the downside. Automation and the future of women at work

Much has […]

As technology changes our lives, shouldn’t it change our taxes?

As technology changes our lives, shouldn’t it change our taxes?

Picture: iSTOCK Technology and the internet are changing our lives. Online shopping is displacing the high street. The gig economy is disrupting employment patterns and wages. Gaming and streaming are altering leisure habits.

However, economies are being affected by the transformations to our lifestyles resulting from smartphones, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, autonomous cars, to the internet of things and 3D printing.

Online shopping and price-comparison websites give consumers better information and more choice of places from which to buy, making it harder for companies to raise prices. Central banks are thus questioning whether inflation targeting remains valid for setting interest […]

Can AI create more jobs than it destroys?

Can AI create more jobs than it destroys?

Amidst the buzz and excitement around Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is simultaneous discussion on the possible consequences of AI. One of them is concerns of job loss. A very real issue, the fear of losing a job to a robot is making the policy think tank NITI Aayog to emphasise on the importance creating new employment to absorb those rendered redundant by automation.

The idea is to create a framework that will allow us to not only enjoy the advantages of AI in areas such as health, farming, education, infrastructure and transportation but to also look at “skilling and reskilling […]

Will robots kill chemistry?

Will robots kill chemistry?

A robot holds a flask. ’m just barely a midcareer professional, and tumult is one word that I can use to describe the economic shifts within chemistry that I’ve witnessed. In my short time in the industry, I’ve seen countless layoffs, the effects of off-shoring, and the dramatic swings in the business cycle that the Great Recession brought chemistry. Many jobs in the chemical enterprise have shifted to China and India, and mergers and acquisitions of companies have led to the shutdown of long-standing giants in the world of industrial chemistry. So it’s no surprise that chemists often discuss […]

Walmart Announces New Workforce Addition: Thousands of Robots

Walmart Announces New Workforce Addition: Thousands of Robots

New addition to the workforce at Walmart. A new tech trend has emerged at the world’s largest retailer, as Walmart brings on board thousands of robots in nearly 5,000 of its 11,348 stores. According to CNN Business , these robots will be scrubbing floors, scanning boxes, unloading trucks and tracking shelf inventory at mostly domestic US locations.

Robots will replace lower-level jobs – serving in janitorial functions as well as performing basic inventory work – in order to manage rising costs. A new robot unloader has already been used on the docks in hundreds of stores, pulling boxes from delivery […]

How Digital Natives and Automation Are Reshaping the Workforce

How Digital Natives and Automation Are Reshaping the Workforce

Dr. Julie Albright during her keynote presentation at the Data Center World 2019 conference in Phoenix. (Photo: Rich Miller) PHOENIX, Ariz. – If you sometimes feel uneasy about the pace of technology and how quickly it is changing our world, you’re not alone. The exploding use of mobile devices is changing how we live and work, according to Dr. Julie Albright, especially for a generation of younger “digital natives” who have grown up with these technologies.

Albright is a Digital Sociologist at the University of Southern California, who studies the impact of technology on human behavior and society. She says […]

Foreign Labor Force Growing at Nearly 3X Rate of Native-Born Americans

Foreign Labor Force Growing at Nearly 3X Rate of Native-Born Americans

Victoria Razo/AFP/Getty-Image The foreign labor force in the United States is growing at nearly three times the rate of the native-born American labor force, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals.

The latest BLS data finds that the total foreign born labor force in March increased by nearly 1.6 percent, while the native-born American labor force grew by only 0.62 percent. Similarly, while the foreign-born labor participation rate grew more than one percent year-to-year, the native-born American labor participation rate remained the same.

In terms of employment, foreign-born workers enjoyed about twice as much growth than their native-born […]

The future of work: Why every prediction you read is wrong

The future of work: Why every prediction you read is wrong

Fifth Frame co-founder Jon Williams. Source: Supplied. Every prediction you have read about the future of work will be wrong.

And the impact on workers in five or 10 years’ time is not an issue for the future, has the potential to be either positive or destructive and will be a consequence of actions taken today.

While the debate about the future of work continues to get plenty of media coverage, much of it is of the alarmist ‘the robots are coming to take your job’ version. It makes for good press and interesting, populist stories.However, the predictions for the near-term […]

Robots set for uprising against taxes after taking too many jobs from humans

Robots set for uprising against taxes after taking too many jobs from humans

New report warns against taxing robots

There are increasing calls for policymakers to impose taxes on robots and other capital goods based on the faulty analysis that doing so is necessary to raise adequate government revenue, restore labor income, and remove “distortions” in the tax code.

However, a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and technology policy, shows that these concerns are illusory and that taxing robots would slow productivity growth, as well as growth in wages and GDP.Robert Atkinson, ITIF president and author of the report, […]