Tag: liberal

The Future of Work, a History

The Future of Work, a History

announced, “MARCH OF THE MACHINE MAKES IDLE HANDS,” with the subhead: “Prevalence of Unemployment With Greatly Increased Industrial Output Points to the Influence of Labor-Saving Devices as an Underlying Cause.”

What these alarming words referred to was the abundance of goods being produced in the roaring plants, mills and farm fields of 1920s America. According to a variety of statistics cited and charted by the Times , what Americans could now make was beginning to outstrip what they could consume, to the point of diminishing employment.

“More and more the finger of suspicion points to the machine,” the Times reporter, Evan […]

California’s $15 minimum wage may mean more automated jobs | The Sacramento Bee

California’s $15 minimum wage may mean more automated jobs | The Sacramento Bee

Outwardly, the McDonalds restaurant just off Highway 101 in Pismo Beach doesn’t look any different from the 1,500 or so others in California.

But when you walk into this one, you immediately encounter a robotic kiosk that allows you to order your hamburger or other fast food on a touch screen, rather than verbally with a human worker at the counter.

Any big policy change, such as increasing the minimum wage, always has negative consequences for somebody.It’s an experiment in automation, or at least mechanization, to reduce operational costs, and not the only one. Never miss a local story. Sign up […]

For Artificial Intelligence, the Future Is Now

For Artificial Intelligence, the Future Is Now

Watershed technologies like AlphaGo make it easy to forget that artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t just a futuristic dream. It’s already here — and we interact with it every day.

Sensing traffic lights, fraud detection, mobile bank deposits, and, of course, internet search — each of these technologies involves AI of some kind. As we have grown used to AI in these instances, it has become part of the scenery — we see it, but we no longer notice it. Expect that trend to continue: As AI grows increasingly ubiquitous, it’ll become increasingly invisible.

Major advancements in technologies dependent on AI — […]

Politicians need to get to grips with potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence

Politicians need to get to grips with potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence

Stephen Hawking has warned of the dangers of ‘effective AI’. It needs to be governed before it gets too big, too quickly, writes Guy Verhofstadt .

At least since Mary Shelley created Victor Frankenstein and his iconic monster in 1818, humans have had a morbid fascination with manmade beings that could threaten our existence.

From the US TV adaptation of Westworld, which depicts an amusement park populated by androids, to the Terminator films in which super-intelligent machines aim to destroy mankind, we often indulge the paranoid fantasy that our own technological creations might turn on us. Robots on the production line […]

Automation to steal 20% of UK jobs by 2030 – McKinsey

Automation to steal 20% of UK jobs by 2030 – McKinsey

Up to 30% of hours worked globally could be replaced by automated tech in 2030.

Automation is billed to relieve humanity of mundane and dangerous labour, so much so that one in five UK full-time employees, in fact, will likely lose their job altogether by 2030 because of it.

A new report examining “substantial workplace transformations” which could arise in scenarios of automated tech uptake has found up to 14% of the global workforce will have to change occupational categories by 2030. As well as redundancies, automation technology will likely induce “changes for all workers” as the majority of jobs […]

The arts will be key for humanity to thrive in the coming artificial intelligence future

The arts will be key for humanity to thrive in the coming artificial intelligence future

A robot receptionist at Henn Na hotel in Japan. University of Canterbury associate professor AMY FLETCHER looks at the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives in the near future, and how best to prepare for the AI revolution.

OPINION: Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming, ready or not, and people around the world are concerned.

Former American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently that humanity is "racing headfirst into a new era of artificial intelligence" without sufficient preparation for how that will impact the world. Dinosaur robots acting as receptionists greet a hotel employee demonstrating how to check-in […]

The clash between man and machine is capitalism’s ultimate challenge

The clash between man and machine is capitalism’s ultimate challenge

It’s time to put man before machine before it’s too late. Photo: AFP ‘A record-shattering US$450 million paid last week for Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is surely a reflection of how years of global money printing has fuelled asset-price inflation.’ Photo: AFP The stars of the European Union on banners flying outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Photo: Bloomberg Ever wondered why so many tech billionaires are reaching for the stars with dreams of settling on Mars? Even acclaimed cosmologist Stephen Hawking reckons we only have 100 years left on Earth before Doomsday descends. Something […]

MSM economics reaches for peak stupid

MSM economics reaches for peak stupid

I’m happy to say that we’ve reached MSM peak stupid thanks to Greg Jericho : So yes, we are seeing a solid increase in employment, but this is not resulting in a rise in overall average incomes like we would expect and as a result we are not seeing a similar boost in spending or consumer confidence. And when you throw in to the mix the fact that wages growth across the board is down it makes for a disconnect between the unemployment rate and our desire to spend. But perhaps there is some hope. Often when talking of […]

We Need to Retool Higher Ed to Defeat Robots

Thousands of years ago, the agricultural revolution led our foraging ancestors to take up the scythe and plough. Hundreds of years ago, the Industrial Revolution pushed farmers out of fields and into factories. Just tens of years ago, the technology revolution ushered many people off the shop floor and into the desk chair and office cube.

Today, we are living through yet another revolution in the way that human beings work for their livelihoods—and once again, this revolution is leaving old certainties scrapped and smoldering on the ash heap of history. Once again, it is being powered by new technologies. […]

Economic Growth Is No Longer Enough

Economic Growth Is No Longer Enough

As new technologies subject the world’s economies to massive structural change, wages are no longer playing the central redistributive role they once did. Unless the decoupling of productivity and wages is addressed, the political convulsions many countries are experiencing will only intensify.

MADRID – Macroeconomic data from the world’s advanced economies can be mystifying when viewed in isolation. But when analyzed collectively, the data reveal a troubling truth: without changes to how wealth is generated and distributed, the political convulsions that have swept the world in recent years will only intensify. Consider, for example, wages and employment. In the United […]