Tag: manufactur

Innovation key to India surviving next industrial revolution

It is not often that the world finds itself at the cusp of a revolution, and an industrial one is even more uncommon. India missed the bus on the first major industrial revolution that was brought about in 18th century Britain, on account of being on the wrong side of colonial history. No other phase of innovation has transformed the industrial landscape to a similar extent, except the digital revolution in the latter half of the 20th century.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, we are about to witness the next industrial revolution, which has the potential to change the way we live, […]

More manufacturing, fewer jobs. Is there a solution?

More manufacturing, fewer jobs. Is there a solution?

Technology and automation have impacted a range of industries, including printing. Manufacturing makes more products than ever before, but not the jobs that once went with them. How can struggling economies resurrect their rust belt regions when factories employ more machines than people?

In a cavernous building on the outskirts of Sydney’s CBD, a lone worker tends to a massive printing machine churning out 70,000 magazines an hour.

Not so long ago, it would have taken six workers to do the job, but advances in technology and automation mean printers at Blue Star Web are able to produce more with less […]

Can Uber Tame Its Brutal Soul?

Can Uber Tame Its Brutal Soul?

The NewCo Daily: Today’s Top Stories

Ivan Gushchin | Flickr Engineer Susan Fowler set off a firestorm last week with a post describing her experiences during a year’s employment at Uber. It was hard to tell which was worse to read about — the incidents of sexual harassment she described, or the inadequate (or nonexistent) response to her treatment by the firm’s management and human-resources team.

Uber, of course, has always been known for a brash, bare-knuckles culture. But Fowler’s account somehow broke through the industry’s indifference with telling, all-too-credible detail. Maybe it was the immunity seemingly granted “high performing” […]

Jobs Most at Risk of Being Replaced by Robots

Jobs Most at Risk of Being Replaced by Robots

How would you feel if your boss tapped you on the shoulder and said, in a deadpan voice, “Please gather your things and leave. Your job will now be performed by a model XQJ-37 Robo-Beeper.” You might say, “Beep you.” But it wouldn’t get you very far (and might result in a call for a security escort) because jobs by the millions are falling away to machines that can think faster, move more efficiently, and don’t complain or join a union when they’re asked to work overtime.

It’s a Good Time to be Creative

Industrial robots have been deployed […]

World Robotics Federation IFR: Why Bill Gates’ Robot Tax is Wrong

FRANKFURT, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

The following is a statement by the World Federation of Robotics IFR:

"Bill Gates´ latest idea to tax robots aims to solve a problem that does not exist: empirical analysis of economic data and forecasts shows that automation and the use of robots create new jobs by increasing productivity. This is in line with the historical experience of technological revolutions, last seen when computers and software automated the business world. To tax production tools instead of their profits would have a negative impact on competitiveness and employment. This is presumably why the European Parliament rejected the idea […]

When Robots Take Bad Jobs

When Robots Take Bad Jobs

Workers at Otto, Uber’s self-driving truck company INDIANAPOLIS—James Ford worked at various printing presses for decades, eventually becoming head pressman at a bookbinding shop in Michigan. But the industry was changing, and as the work required fewer and fewer people, he searched around for his next career. He settled on truck driving.

“I want to see America and get paid for it,” he told me in December, in the cafeteria of Celadon Driving Academy, where he was completing a six-week driving course in order to get his commercial driving license (CDL). Celadon, which is also a trucking company, offers a […]

Herb Van Fleet: The paradox of robotic labor

Herb Van Fleet: The paradox of robotic labor

Amid the shrill and irritating noise of politics these days, there have been a few news stories reporting on the progress of robotics, especially robotic cars. Robots are just one of the engineering outgrowths that are part of artificial intelligence and high-tech automation systems. Besides cars, their applications run the gamut from the military, to manufacturing, to health care, to agriculture, to running the vacuum and cleaning the house. And engineers are hard at work finding and developing other artificial intelligence applications.

For private sector businesses, artificial intelligence and its emergent technology provide a path to higher profits while maintaining […]

How to stay relevant in an automated world

How to stay relevant in an automated world

Robots have been replacing humans for half a century. When people first started employing robots over their human cohorts, it was in the manufacturing industry. Decades later, robots have revolutionised the business of physical labour, proving more efficient and safer than flesh-and-blood employees. The next great leap for robot workers was basic automation-bots – which could handle relatively simple transaction-based customer-service jobs.

Booking a flight home used to involve talking to a travel agent, now it involves a few web pages and mouse clicks. Same goes for online banking, shopping and property. Now there’s a new breed of sophisticated ‘cognitive’ […]

Bill Gates Is Wrong That Robots and Automation Are Killing Jobs

Bill Gates Is Wrong That Robots and Automation Are Killing Jobs

In a recent interview, Microsoft MSFT founder Bill Gates proposed that robots should be taxed. He anticipates that robots will replace large numbers of workers over the next 20 years. By taxing the robots, he argued, we would slow down the pace of automation and the funds raised could be used to retrain and financially support displaced workers, who could then move into new jobs in health care, education, or other areas where human labor is needed.

While Gates is right that robots–not just traditional industrial robots, but all sorts of artificial intelligence applications–are indeed likely to automate a lot […]

Future economy needs future-ready social safety net

Future economy needs future-ready social safety net

As job insecurity looms in a world of churn, we need to attend to the well-being of citizens too

As a consumer, I love start-ups. Airbnb, Uber and car-sharing apps transformed my vacation experiences, opening up cheaper – and more interesting – accommodation and transport options. You can live in someone’s lovely house, get to know them and their family, drive a neighbour’s car, order food in when you feel like it, and even make new friends instantly via social meet-ups.

In Singapore, I use Uber, Grab and food-delivery platforms. I order food in restaurants from iPads. (Smartphone QR code […]