Tag: employment

The future of work

The dog days of summer are waning, pools are closing, and parents are taking a deep breath as they get to send their kids back to school. It’s Labor Day. But Labor Day is about more than a last hurrah before getting back to work after a summer of fun. Established by the labor movement, it is an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made throughout history to the well-being and economic strength of the United States.

As we mark the achievements of the past, Labor Day also represents an opportune time to pause and take a look […]

The Robots Are Coming. Welcome Them

Is it time to bow to our robot overlords? Last week analysts at Morgan Stanley , MS 0.16 % using data from an Oxford University study , predicted that nearly half of U.S. jobs will be replaced by robots over the next two decades. Ouch. Maybe we should build a wall.

Cars that drive themselves? Waiters you don’t need to pay (or tip)? Self-folding clothes? Are we headed toward a post-job future? Signs are certainly there. Abundant Robotics, a company spun from the same Stanford Research Institute that brought us the mouse and networked computing, has begun testing a robot […]

Should you hire robots?

Should you hire robots?

With an increasing focus on automation through robotics, digitisation and even artificial intelligence , humanity is in the midst of a new industrial revolution.

In the next decade more than 40 per cent of the jobs we know today will no longer exist according to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, replaced by jobs we can’t even imagine yet. A quick look at LinkedIn tells us the majority of roles being advertised have the word ‘ digital’ in the role title.

So how should business leaders respond to the questions and concerns of team members? At ANZ, the most frequently […]

Garment factories to buy into automation

Investors in Cambodia’s garment industry are increasingly purchasing modern equipment as they look to produce higher value-added products to compete in the international market and counter rising labour costs, an industry insider said yesterday.

Ly Tek Heng, operation manager at the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), said rising factory worker wages were thinning margins on the production of low-value garments and footwear in the face of fierce global competition.

“If we produce low-value products while the cost of labour keeps rising, we cannot compete,” said Heng. “So, big investors are going to use more modern equipment and machinery, which lets […]

Flipkart, Infosys, AskMe: Why recent spate of job cuts should worry us

Flipkart, Infosys, AskMe: Why recent spate of job cuts should worry us

New Delhi – In the last few days, newspapers have had screaming headlines of loss of thousands of jobs across the services sector.

On Monday , The Indian Express reported Infosys, the country’s second largest software exporter, has cut 500 jobs after the company recorded poor quarterly results were and lost a contract from RBS.

Over the weekend, reports said about 4,000 people were about to lose their jobs due to a suspension of operations at e-commerce website AskMe. Earlier Flipkart had asked about 700 underperformers to leave. Meanwhile, Snapdeal is shutting down a luxury fashion portal which could lead to […]

What are some jobs that can’t be automated/ replaced by robots and will have a good employment in the future?

What are some jobs that can't be automated/ replaced by robots and will have a good employment in the future?

Almost all trade jobs in the housing area and commercial real estate maintenance. Plumbers, electricians, masons, carpenters and almost all construction workers. Their pay is often equal to dentists and lawyers and other professionals and they are regarded as professionals themselves.

It will be a long time (my guess is more than 50 years) before any robot can move independently enough with the manual dexterity and visual judgement, materials and tools skills that these people have. The movement of robots and the AI needed is so primitive at this point, that it may be dozens of years before any kind […]

Despite fears, Mexico’s manufacturing boom is lifting U.S. workers

Despite fears, Mexico's manufacturing boom is lifting U.S. workers

Workers assemble the Forte sedan on the floor of a Kia plant in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, which began production in May. (Natalie Kitroeff / Los Angeles Times) Enrique Zarate, 19, had spent just a year in college when he landed an apprenticeship at a new BMW facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. If he performs well, in a year he’ll win a well-paid position, with benefits, working with robots at the company’s newest plant.

Within a decade or so, most of the BMW 3 series cars that Americans buy will probably come from Mexico, built by people like Zarate.

“When you […]

How trade impacts American jobs: Research roundup

How trade impacts American jobs: Research roundup

Container ship (Photo: Pixabay) Economic dogma asserts that free trade improves everyone’s wellbeing. For decades, both major American political parties have hailed free trade with other countries as critical to voters’ well being. But candidates in the 2016 presidential election have raised piercing questions about the benefits, with both major party nominees distancing themselves from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a pact with bilateral support that was seven-years-in-the-making. The Republican nominee is even proposing to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ), a signature policy of the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.

Rapidly increasing […]

What about the human casualties of AI & Automation?

What about the human casualties of AI & Automation?

Analysis: With Uber looking to replace one million drivers with its self-driving vehicles, will AI really lead to mass unemployment?

Artificial Intelligence – a technology which has continually broken promises. Until now, that is.

AI technology has always been the star striker of the technology field, hugely expensive and much hyped. However, AI has never scored the big goals promised by those working on the sidelines, with a Minority Report-esque world remaining in the realms of fiction.However, no one can ignore the renewed enthusiasm that AI is today courting – companies like Salesforce, Intel and Apple are rushing to acquire AI […]

3 Ways Tech Is Empowering Freelancers

3 Ways Tech Is Empowering Freelancers

By now we’ve all heard of the term ‘shared economy’. Or at least the companies that spearheaded this movement, such as Uber , Airbnb , RelayRides or TaskRabbit .

After the 2008 financial crisis, we’ve seen a decline in quality corporate jobs. And thus people are supplementing their income with ‘side jobs’. But this so-called side hustle has become commonplace . According to Freelancers Union , 53 million people in the US are 1099 employees.

I recently connected with Will Lee, an Artificial Intelligence expert who studied at Stanford. He created his company, Verlocal , with the mission to teach and […]