Tag: inequality

The Next Hot Millennial Trend: Never-Ending Labor in Dystopian Warehouses

The Next Hot Millennial Trend: Never-Ending Labor in Dystopian Warehouses

The death of retail, workers’ rights, and pension plans have sent migrant seniors into the arms of Amazon. What does this mean for a generation saddled with debt?

Allie Conti

Sep 27 2017, 5:25pm All photos by Jessica Bruder As online retail has become a way of life, the classic American shopping mall has been presented with seemingly inevitable extinction. Mom-and-pop stores succumbing to big-box competitors is an old story, but these days even retail behemoths like J.Crew , Sears, and Kmart are in trouble . One recent casualty on this front was Toys R Us, […]

Rather than taxing robots, we should be redesigning jobs

Rather than taxing robots, we should be redesigning jobs

The future is not human or machine; it is human and machine Credit: Nic Delves Recent years have seen a succession of scare stories about the impact of AI on future employment. And figures as diverse as Bill Gates and, this week, Jeremy Corbyn have called for a tax on robots . But the hype about them taking our jobs is based largely on human conjecture. It misses two things.

Firstly, in terms of outlook, if we take action to prepare for the future of work, the digital transformation gives us a real opportunity to improve the life chances of […]

Is a universal basic income the answer to rampant automation?

Opinionista Ivo Vegter

The notion of a universal basic income (UBI), paid by the state out of tax revenue to every citizen, is widely seen as a necessary measure to guard against structural unemployment caused by technological progress. Is it?

The notion that automation, artificial intelligence and robotics will put many, if not all, of us out of work, is gaining traction. The idea is neatly (but wrongly, in my opinion) summed up in a video by the wonderful CGP Grey, entitled Humans Need Not Apply . Grey argues that this time it really is different. A similar view is held […]

The Future of Work Is Uncertain, Schools Should Worry Now

The Future of Work Is Uncertain, Schools Should Worry Now

—Taylor Callery for Education Week Automation and artificial intelligence are disrupting the labor market. What do K-12 educators and policymakers need to know?

Today’s 6th graders will hit their prime working years in 2030.

By that time, the "robot apocalypse" could be fully upon us. Automation and artificial intelligence could have eliminated half the jobs in the United States economy.Or, plenty of jobs could still exist, but today’s students could be locked in a fierce competition for a few richly rewarded positions requiring advanced technical and interpersonal skills. Robots and algorithms would take care of what used to be solid […]

Labor MP ridicules universal basic income push and says it would worsen inequality

Labor MP ridicules universal basic income push and says it would worsen inequality

The Labor MP Jim Chalmers has ridiculed the push to introduce a universal basic income in Australia, saying it would be a “backward step” for workers that could increase inequality and cost the budget billions.

His criticism of the concept puts him squarely alongside the shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, who has been pushing back for months against internal and external calls to adopt the welfare policy .

Chalmers has cemented his critique of universal basic income in a new book, co-written with Mike Quigley, the former chief executive of NBN Co, on technological change, the labour force and inequality called Changing […]

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs ‘lack imagination’

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs 'lack imagination'

Dr Catherine Ball. (Source: Vivid Sydney, supplied) There’s been much talk about whether the rise of intelligent robots, machine learning and artificial intelligence has the potential for social and economic unrest, by leaving millions or even billions of humans without jobs.

Oxford University professor of globalisation and former World Bank vice president Ian Goldin told Business Insider in May that emerging technologies could trigger a “rapid widening of inequality” as many groups find it increasingly difficult to secure “decent jobs”.

However, one tech expert disagrees with this view – and says those that are anxious for their jobs have an irrational […]

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs ‘lack imagination’

TECH EXPERT: People who fear robots taking their jobs 'lack imagination'

Dr Catherine Ball. (Source: Vivid Sydney, supplied) There’s been much talk about whether the rise of intelligent robots, machine learning and artificial intelligence has the potential for social and economic unrest, by leaving millions or even billions of humans without jobs.

Oxford University professor of globalisation and former World Bank vice president Ian Goldin told Business Insider in May that emerging technologies could trigger a “rapid widening of inequality” as many groups find it increasingly difficult to secure “decent jobs”.

However, one tech expert disagrees with this view – and says those that are anxious for their jobs have an irrational […]

Pensions – Articles – SPA debate may be irrelevant if AI predictions play out

Ahead of the conference Better Futures, which will debate challenges presented by an ageing society, the rise of AI and a lack of savings, Hymans Robertson has looked at the implications for the State pension if predictions about the impact AI will have on jobs and UK GDP play out. Many argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to change society and the economic landscape beyond recognition. Commenting, Calum Cooper, Partner at Hymans Robertson, said: “There are many predictions about the impact the rise of Artificial Intelligence will have in the future. While we can’t be certain about […]

How artificial intelligence can define not destroy the future of work

How artificial intelligence can define not destroy the future of work

Artificial intelligence is going to change the work of millions, but it doesn’t have to mean the robot-led devastation that many are fearing. Shutterstock.com by Daniel Darling

Work is a defining feature of our civilisation. We spend more time in our jobs than any other activity and the spoils of our labour provide us the means to survive. It gives identity, status and purpose.

So we can be forgiven if we get nervous when our jobs are threatened. And there has never been a clearer threat than increasing automation through robotics and AI. I am of the camp that ultimately, in […]

Amazon Warehouse Employees Are The Most Important Workers in America

Amazon Warehouse Employees Are The Most Important Workers in America

The future is not completely unpredictable. Many of the most powerful economic and political trends in this country can be found inside an Amazon warehouse. And what happens to the workers there will say a lot about our collective future.

Our nation—as it often has throughout modern history—is experiencing a diffuse sense that our future is uncertain, that our economic prospects are unstable, and that the material success experienced by past generations may become impossible to attain for future generations. The fabled “economic anxiety” afflicting millions of us with a vague sense of dread is real enough. This, despite the […]