Tag: inequality

Automation risks creating a two-tier workforce of haves and have-nots

Automation risks creating a two-tier workforce of haves and have-nots

Workplaces could become “anti-human”: centred around technology rather than people. The recent news that BT would reduce its workforce by as many as 55,000 by 2030, including about 10,000 jobs replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) , is part of a growing trend of job losses globally due to various forms of automation.

This is borne out by several industry reports, including one from McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) acknowledging that as many as 800 million jobs may be lost globally due to changes in technology by 2030.

In our book Work 3.0 , the author and business adviser Avik Chanda and I […]

Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

This book by two MIT economists is very timely because the world is now dealing with the latest in the “Thousand Year Struggle,” in the form of artificial intelligence, the claims that many white-collar jobs will be automated, OpenAI’s call for regulation, and the possibility that AI will bring a further concentration of power among the big tech companies.

Much of the book sets the stage for this discussion by summarizing the history of technology. This review focuses on the economic and social impact of automation and information technology over the last 50 years. For instance, “the distribution of income […]

Studies Suggest That Rather Than Killing Jobs, AI Could Revive The Middle Class

Studies Suggest That Rather Than Killing Jobs, AI Could Revive The Middle Class

from the unexpected-optimism dept

We’ve certainly been talking a lot about the “ AI Doomers ” who insist that AI is all too likely to destroy humanity. However, even people who aren’t fully on board with the existential threat of AI do often say that, at the very least, it’s going to destroy jobs for most people, potentially creating huge problems. For years now, people have been arguing for universal basic income , in large part, because they think that automation and AI will take away everyone’s jobs. I mean, it was a core plank of Andrew Yang’s silly […]

Navigating AI Job Losses: Balancing Progress and Social Responsibility

In an era of rapid technological advancement, I find myself increasingly concerned about the potential loss of jobs due to automation and artificial intelligence (AI). If we reflect on the ethical considerations surrounding this issue, we are reminded of the personal implications it holds for individuals. Let’s delve into the ethical implications of "job losses" resulting from automation with empathy and a personal touch.

At the heart of this issue lies the worry of job displacement. As automation driven by AI continues to advance, I cannot help but wonder how it will impact my own job and those of individuals […]

Column-World balance sheet may need AI-style productivity leap: Mike Dolan

Column-World balance sheet may need AI-style productivity leap: Mike Dolan

By Mike Dolan

LONDON (Reuters) – Hype or hope, this year’s boom in artificial intelligence along with other productivity-enhancing tech developments may be one of few ways to sustain an increasingly fragile “global balance sheet” over coming decades.

There is little doubt about the market heat, corporate alarm and social anxieties created in the mere six months since the breakthrough in “generative AI” tools took the world by storm. What it means for jobs, productivity, profit margins and even trustworthy information dominates the debate.Even Bank of America’s strategists have taken to describing the stock market craze around it as a “baby […]

DemographAIc dead end? How Artificial Intelligence may leave India in double whammy

DemographAIc dead end? How Artificial Intelligence may leave India in double whammy

AI has crept up on us like an Indie film that’s turned into a raging blockbuster. In a matter of just months, AI is running houseful. So many of us are using ChatGPT, Bard and Bing to tackle dull assignments, draft boilerplates, write contracts, crunch data, design graphics and summarise articles. Even in areas where we were betting AI would fail, it’s delivered. A picture created by AI won a prestigious photo award, and a song it belted out sounded almost better than that of the original musician. Its art mocks years of creative meditation.

Anjana Menon Nithin Kamath […]

The Disappearing White-Collar Job

The Disappearing White-Collar Job

The jobs lost in a monthslong cascade of white-collar layoffs triggered by overhiring and rising interest rates might never return, corporate executives and economists say A once-in-a-generation convergence of technology and pressure to operate more efficiently has corporations saying many lost jobs may never return

For generations of Americans, a corporate job was a path to stable prosperity. No more.

The jobs lost in a monthslong cascade of white-collar layoffs triggered by overhiring and rising interest rates might never return, corporate executives and economists say. Companies are rethinking the value of many white-collar roles, in what some experts anticipate will […]

Artificial Intelligence Will Take Away Jobs and Disrupt Society, says Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath

The emergence of artificial general intelligence (AGI) brings both positive and negative implications. On the positive side, AGI has the potential to significantly enhance the productivity and effectiveness of professionals in various fields. By leveraging its capabilities, experts can achieve higher levels of efficiency and accomplish tasks more effectively than ever before. However, alongside these advancements, the rise of AGI also raises valid concerns. One major worry is the potential loss of jobs due to automation.

Along the same lines, Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO, Zerodha tweeted that while they would never fire any of their employees over a piece […]

Protect workforce from A.I.

Protect workforce from A.I.

While it is important for Malaysia, as a developing economy, to include emerging technologies, the country’s leadership must also be cognisant of the implications of doing so. – AFP PIC LETTERS: Goldman Sachs, as reported by CNN, said: "As many as 300 million full-time jobs around the world could be automated in some way by the newest wave of artificial intelligence that has spawned platforms like ChatGPT."

These consequences will affect Malaysia.

A study by Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Economics and Administration found that "40.1 per cent of Malaysian jobs are at high risk of being automated with 57 per cent […]

This company adopted AI. Here’s what happened to its human workers

This company adopted AI. Here's what happened to its human workers

Lately, it’s felt like technological change has entered warp speed. Companies like OpenAI and Google have unveiled new Artificial Intelligence systems with incredible capabilities, making what once seemed like science fiction an everyday reality. It’s an era that is posing big, existential questions for us all, about everything from literally the future of human existence to — more to the focus of Planet Money — the future of human work.

"Things are changing so fast," says Erik Brynjolfsson, a leading, technology-focused economist based at Stanford University.

Back in 2017, Brynjolfsson published a paper in one of the top academic journals, Science […]