Tag: inequality

The future of work in sub-Saharan Africa

The future of work in sub-Saharan Africa

African youth in agriculture Sierra Leone Telegraph: 17 December 2018:

A recent IMF strategy paper says that “Far-reaching changes in technology, climate, and global economic integration are transforming the world of work in ways that we do not yet fully understand.”

The authors of the paper ask: Will the swift technological advances of the Fourth Industrial Revolution raise the standards of living for everyone? Or will robots massively displace workers leading to a jobless future where only a few benefit from the fruits of innovation?Will mitigation efforts be able to cushion the adverse effects of climate change, including food shortages and […]

More sex in driverless cars?

More sex in driverless cars?

By Chang Se-moon Will sex be more common in driverless cars? At least some studies speculate that to be the case, suggesting the likelihood that more people will die in clashes of driverless cars, a byproduct of artificial intelligence (AI). (The Washington Post, Nov. 13, A15)
Besides more sex in driverless cars, one practical question that everyone is concerned about in AI relates to what types of jobs are likely to be replaced by machine learning. Machine learning is a sub-field of AI that could impact practically everyone in the labor market, including sex workers.
Professors Erik Brynjolfsson of […]

If Amazon Go technology goes big, grocery workers may get the sack

If Amazon Go technology goes big, grocery workers may get the sack

In 1912, the first Horn & Hardart automat opened in New York City.

A combination of high-tech ingenuity and frugal convenience, the automat was a restaurant that cut out costly servers. Patrons fed coins into streamlined sets of vending machines to get main courses, side dishes and desserts among hundreds of choices.

The concept actually originated in Germany in 1895. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart licensed it for the United States, opening first in Philadelphia. But it became a Big Apple icon, a backdrop for many movies. As one appreciation described it , “Dining was communal and cafeteria-style, to the extent […]

G20: Digital change and gig economy rewire the world of work

G20: Digital change and gig economy rewire the world of work

When his daughter was born, Paulo Aguilar, a Chilean entrepreneur, wanted to find a new way of working — one that would allow him to stay at home and see her grow up.

His solution was to log on to Mercado Libre, Latin America’s answer to eBay, to find out what people wanted to buy. Soon he started his own company, Comercial Limax, selling pet accessories from his study, where his daughter could visit whenever she pleased. Five years on, the company is doing well, with a warehouse and a team of eight.

Mr Aguilar is one of many adjusting to […]

Click Here For The Brave New World Of Work

Click Here For The Brave New World Of Work

Steve Coulter Paul Romer , this year’s economics Nobel laureate, famously remarked that the effects of the IT revolution were showing up everywhere except in the productivity statistics. Other economists suggested that full exploitation of a new technology can take a long time, perhaps decades. Well, one area now clearly showing the impact of IT and automation is the labour market.

Technology is transforming the world of work, but social democrats and others appear unsure how to respond. Progressives embrace change but want technology to benefit the many and not just the few who develop, own or exploit it. Trade […]

Is tech a friend or foe when it comes to workplace equality?

Is tech a friend or foe when it comes to workplace equality?

"It will be a challenge to develop software which is 100% unbiased and can truly contribute to workplace equality". Photo: iStock Analysis: an assessment of technology’s impact on gender pay gaps, equal employment opportunities and life/work balance

Topics such as the "future of work" , "Industry 4.0" and the "gig economy" have recently become almost ubiquitous in popular media. While debate about such topics is called for, one of the criticisms, which can be levelled at some of those to the fore of such discussions is the largely homogenous way in which these developments are discussed.

Technological advancement holds great […]

AI: More than robots in the factory

AI: More than robots in the factory

Fancy a free salary? No strings attached. Technology heavyweights, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson all back Universal Basic Income (UBI). Graham Smith from Microsoft recruitment partner Curo Talent , explains why these policies aren’t simply the brain fodder of billionaires, but could become a reality due to advances in artificial intelligence.

UBI describes a cash handout, distributed to everyone, irrespective of a citizen’s employment status. The concept has long been supported by socialists, but the inequality of jobs caused by automation could make policies like this a necessity.

Reports by PwC estimate that robots could represent up to 30% […]

Japanese fear automation will take more jobs than foreigners

Japanese fear automation will take more jobs than foreigners

Pew survey: Only 15% of adults feel youths will be better off than their parents Nearly 90% of Japanese think robots and computers will take over most of the jobs in the next half century. © Reuters TOKYO — The Japanese public is happier about the economy than at any time in nearly two decades, though few think the next generation will have it as good. People’s biggest fear is automation, not foreigners, taking jobs from local workers.

While 44% of respondents to a Pew Research Center survey said the current economic situation is good, 15% answered that today’s children […]

Universal Income, Incentives and Well-Being

Universal Income, Incentives and Well-Being

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

Marx objected to the 19th-century Speenhamland revision to the Elizabethan Poor Laws—which was a top-up grant regardless of income—because it would incentivize employers to lower wages, and Marxists are big believers in labor (versus leisure or capital) as the source of economic value.

Interest in a guaranteed income arose in the 1960s wave of “cybernetics” (man-plus-machine automation) and the debate over whether the modern economy was evolving from labor to leisure and away from full employment. It has re-emerged in this era of artificial intelligence and robotics in the grander-sounding “universal basic income” (UBI) which risks metastasizing […]

Don’t fear automation and artificial intelligence. Humans will always be in control — and employed

Don't fear automation and artificial intelligence. Humans will always be in control — and employed

Robots assemble a car at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., in 2015. (David Butow / For The Times) To the editor: I am an electrical engineer with the skills to make automation happen, and I believe the future is not as bleak as presented in the article predicting millions of Californians could soon be out of work .

Artificial intelligence is not magic, and we still have to build and program devices capable of implementing it. Where autonomous vehicles are concerned, remember that aircraft have employed autopilot systems for decades. As an instrument-rated private pilot, I would require additional […]