Tag: inequality

If we want a post-work future, we need to reconsider what counts as work in the first place

If we want a post-work future, we need to reconsider what counts as work in the first place

30 per cent of UK jobs could potentially be automated away by the early 2030s Work isn’t working anymore. Labour productivity has fallen in the UK since the financial crisis ; 13.5 million people are living in low-income households; real wages are falling and the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, is rising.

The sustainability and quality of jobs in our economy is also decreasing – 7.1 million workers now face precarious working conditions , meaning that uncertainty (and for many, anxiety) itself is now built into our employment system. According to some estimates , 30 per cent of UK jobs […]

Can online shopping absorb traditional retail workers?

Can online shopping absorb traditional retail workers?

HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: As more and more shopping is done online, what will become of the 16 million Americans who work in the retail industry?

Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, takes a look. It’s part of our series Making Sense, which airs Thursdays on the NewsHour.

JENNIFER RICHTER , Former Regional Director, Macy’s: This is a great, great, great basic black top. PAUL SOLMAN: This summer, Jennifer Richter opened her own clothing boutique online. JENNIFER RICHTER: This is just the future of retail. The brick-and-mortar stores, they’re just going to keep trimming the fat and keep eliminating positions. PAUL […]

If you don’t want to lose your job to a robot, don’t think like one

If you don’t want to lose your job to a robot, don’t think like one

Don’t be this guy The American job market holds few guarantees, and its future might hold even fewer. But in making critical career decisions, here’s a question you might ask yourself:

Am I a Roomba?

Chris Adami, a theoretical physicist and Michigan State University professor with a knack for breaking down artificial intelligence into simple terms, explains.A Roomba – the robotic floor sweeper – he said, is a familiar and easily understood example of how artificial intelligence works: “It senses the environment it’s in. It moves around, using an intelligent algorithm. Its reaction is appropriate given the sensory input it has.”This, […]

Minimum Wage Hikes and Automation Risks

Minimum Wage Hikes and Automation Risks

A couple years ago, I wrote , Other studies show that an increased minimum wage causes firms to incrementally move toward automation. Now, this too could be seen as a trade-off: automation and technological progress tend to make processes more efficient and therefore increase productivity (and eventually wages ), raising living standards for consumers (which include the poor). Nonetheless, the point is that while unemployment in the short-term may be insignificant, the long-term effects could be much bigger. For example, one study finds that minimum wage hikes lead to lower rates of job growth: about 0.05 percentage points a […]

A new urban economic agenda: how to localise, socialise, and democratise the economy

A new urban economic agenda: how to localise, socialise, and democratise the economy

There are sensible ways through which we can reorganise the UK economy, argues Neil McInroy . He explains how a new urban economic agenda can be implemented and how it can help build a more socially just future.

All things must pass and the dominant urban economic model of the last few years is starting to creak, and a new progressive agenda is threatening to replace it. At its core is a rejection of liberal economics, a questioning of urban economic policy, and a desire to reorganise our city economies: social justice and environmental sustainability are not just hopes […]

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact the UK Economy?

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact the UK Economy?

Nearly 50 years since the IT revolution, the fourth industrial revolution is looming and it will be instigated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) . This is the growing phenomenon where machines act like humans. AI can involve analysing large datasets through to automating manual tasks in a factory. Companies such as Facebook are researching ways to help the blind see pictures and Google has a goal to create a self driving car. There is also a plethora of financial startups erupting the market to automise back office operations through to accounting functions. Now seems like the most prevalent time to […]

The future of work in the era of artificial intelligence

The future of work in the era of artificial intelligence

In this picture from March 2016, South Korean professional Go player, Lee Sedol, takes on Google’s artificial intelligence programme AlphaGo.

Artificial intelligence is fast changing the world. The premise that intelligent machines will perform tasks more efficiently and at a lower cost than human beings is by no means far-fetched. The challenges facing the workers of the future are multiplying before our very eyes.

Some of the most vulnerable jobs in the transition to automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are related to transport, mechanical work in factories and customer service. But no sector, be it health, finance or even the military, […]

Time to rethink our perspective on jobs and technology

Time to rethink our perspective on jobs and technology

Is it only the export of jobs that has led to unemployment or are we entering a brave new world of technology steadily eroding once secure foundations of employment?

Technology and jobs, whither goest thou?

Whether in the Philippines or the United States, it is time to pause and assess the very real impact of technology’s advances on those who will lose their jobs today as the so-called “jobs of tomorrow” are created.Too often, “globalized” business leaders and macroeconomists blindly welcome every advance in productivity, while investors in turn reward news of resulting job reductions with an upward tick in share […]

The future of work

The future of work

The world is experiencing an unprecedented rate of technologically-driven disruption – adding weight to the proposition that humanity will see more change in the next 20 to 25 years than the last 200. Although a critical driver, it is important to realise that exponential science and technology developments (e.g. Internet of Things, Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics) exist within the context of other disruptive drivers:

• A shift from physical to digital mindsets
• Linear versus exponential business thinking
• Human versus machine • Potential for major shifts in employment patterns • Financial stress driving new economic thinking • […]

Peter Harris proposes later retirement age and a right to go back to school

Peter Harris proposes later retirement age and a right to go back to school

Policy wonks have gathered in frosty Melbourne to take the nation’s economic temperature. Things could be worse, but there are plenty of risks on the horizon. Do we need to convince Australians to work for longer, and make it easier to go back to study?

It’s often said we’re living through an age of uncertainty, but what’s the biggest point of uncertainty for the Australian economy?

Our polarised and often ineffectual politics? A heavily indebted China? Ageing? The budget? Trump? Brexit?Well that’s uncertain too, Productivity Commission chair Peter Harris told the first day of the Melbourne Institute’s Economic and Social Outlook […]