Tag: manufactur

Robot arms replace factory hands

Robot arms replace factory hands

95 per cent of job losses are due to automation and computer technology. PHOTO: AFP PARIS: Donald Trump has been crowing as companies including Ford renounce plans to move factories to Mexico. But the main beneficiaries of this shift back to the US aren’t saying much by way of celebration — industrial robots don’t tend to speak.

While globalisation’s detractors blame countries such as China and Mexico for stealing the factory jobs of the West, experts point to less obvious culprits which are harder to scapegoat and to overcome in an interconnected economy with complex supply chains.

Since US manufacturing employment […]

McKinsey report: Robots will take jobs, but not as fast as some fear

McKinsey report: Robots will take jobs, but not as fast as some fear

Humanoid robots work side by side with employees in the assembly line at a factory of Glory Ltd., a manufacturer of automatic change dispensers, in Kazo, north of Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2015. — Reuters pic NEW YORK, Jan 14 — The robots are coming, but the march of automation will displace jobs more gradually than some alarming forecasts suggest.

A measured pace is likely because what is technically possible is only one factor in determining how quickly new technology is adopted, according to a new study by the McKinsey Global Institute. Other crucial ingredients include economics, labour markets, regulations […]

America’s growth challenge, in 2 charts

The following two charts, from that great McKinsey Global Institute study I mentioned earlier, do a good job of illustrating the productivity challenge facing advanced economies, including the United States. If you want to grow as fast in the future as in the past, productivity growth is key to offset a demographic headwind: McKinsey further breaks down the growth challenge, and highlights how automation can help: GDP growth was exceptionally brisk over the past half century, driven by the twin engines of employment growth and rising productivity. However, declining birthrates and the trend toward aging in many advanced and […]

Robots Will Devour Jobs More Slowly Than You Think

Robots Will Devour Jobs More Slowly Than You Think

We know that automation is affecting the labor market , but forecasts differ on how swift and dramatic the future impact will be. A new report now suggests things may happen more slowly than some have predicted.

Last month, it was reported that Foxconn plans to replace almost every human worker in some of its manufacturing plants with a robot . Perhaps more worrying for office workers was the news that a Japanese insurance firm was sacking over 30 staff because artificial intelligence could calculate payouts just as well as humans. No wonder that two-thirds of Americans believe that robots […]

Will you be replaced by a robot? A look at what jobs are going to the bots

Will you be replaced by a robot? A look at what jobs are going to the bots

WATCH ABOVE: European politicians debate whether to give robots rights With automation and artificial intelligence seeping into our everyday lives, the threat of a robot revolution taking over our jobs (and, according to sci-fi movies, the world) seems more realistic.

While automation will inevitably become more common in the workplace, a new report estimates only about five per cent of jobs are in jeopardy of a total takeover.

READ MORE: Do humans trust robots too much? Overall, automation will benefit businesses and economies as a whole, write the authors of the report from the McKinsey Global Institute , the business […]

Harnessing automation for a future that works

Harnessing automation for a future that works

Automation is happening, and it will bring substantial benefits to businesses and economies worldwide, but it won’t arrive overnight. A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds realizing automation’s full potential requires people and technology to work hand in hand.

Recent developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have put us on the cusp of a new automation age. Robots and computers can not only perform a range of routine physical work activities better and more cheaply than humans, but they are also increasingly capable of accomplishing activities that include cognitive capabilities once considered too difficult to automate successfully, […]

Robots will take jobs from humans, but later than thought

Robots will take jobs from humans, but later than thought

An automated workforce will replace human labor someday, but not as soon as some frightening predictions suggest, according to a new study by the McKinsey Global Institute.

Read more The experts analyzed more than 2,000 work activities across 800 occupations, breaking down jobs into tasks. “Almost half the activities people are paid almost $16 trillion in wages to do in the global economy have the potential to be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technology,” the report says .

However, less than five percent of all occupations can be automated entirely, according to the analysts. “About 60 percent of all occupations have […]

CEO Daily: Friday,13th January

Good Friday morning.

Recent developments in robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to eliminate half the activities people are currently paid to do in the workforce, according to a study out from the McKinsey Global Institute this morning. And it’s not just manufacturing jobs. Many middle- and high-skilled jobs, including those in data collection and processing, have a significant degree of automation potential.

That change won’t happen overnight. The McKinsey report says it will take anywhere from 20 to 40 years for half of today’s work activities to be automated. And new jobs will be created in the […]

Half of today’s work activities could be automated by 2055: McKinsey

About half of the activities people are paid to do in the global economy have the potential to be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technology by 2055, amounting to almost 12 trillion U.S. dollars in wages, the McKinsey Global Institute said in a report newly released in Hong Kong.
The report, entitled "A future that works: automation, employment and productivity", analyzes the automation potential of the global economy, covering all sectors in over 50 countries.
At a time of lackluster productivity growth worldwide, automation technologies, including robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning can give a needed boost […]

End of Work Reading List: Automation, Onshoring, Heart, and AI Texas Hold’em

End of Work Reading List: Automation, Onshoring, Heart, and AI Texas Hold’em

Xconomy Seattle —

One of Xconomy’s areas of focus in 2017 is the increasing impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation on human labor. Technology has always made some occupations obsolete, while changing others, and creating new ones. Today, and looking forward, these changes seem to be accelerating. This is the exponential economy from which Xconomy created its name.

There’s news every day and a lot of great stuff being written on this broad, essential issue. To help you make some sense of it, and to show you the sources that influence our thinking and coverage, we’ll be […]