Tag: manufactur

When A Robot Writes About Investing In Robots

Will Robots Replace the Human Workforce?

Robotics and artificial intelligence (NYSE: AI ) technology is developing rapidly , and its impact is already noticeable across a variety of industries including industrial manufacturing, self-driving cars, surgical robots, and drones.

Much of the discussion around robots & AI has focuses on the emerging technology’s impact on the work force – namely, if robots will lead to the end of jobs. In an effort to tackle this question, McKinsey Global Institute recently produced a report called " A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, and Productivity ." 1 In the report, the authors noted […]

Reason for loss of US manufacturing jobs complicated

Reason for loss of US manufacturing jobs complicated

The statistics are quite startling — since 2000, the United States has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs.

Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin account for nearly a third of the manufacturing jobs lost, with wage levels in the manufacturing sector in these states either flat or sharply down.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that President Donald Trump, who promised to bring jobs back to America, carried all five of these states.So what accounts for this huge loss of jobs? Some of it was the result of U.S. companies shifting manufacturing operations to countries with lower wages. Maytag […]

Job-stealing robots — a growing concern

Over the last decade open markets and global trade have been blamed for job losses in the developed world. But the global Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) say the real culprits are increasingly the machines that are being increasingly introduced to the industries. And while business leaders gathered at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland relishing the productivity gains that technology can bring, they also warned that the collateral damage to jobs needs to be addressed more seriously. From taxi drivers to healthcare professionals, technologies such as robotics, driverless cars, artificial intelligence and 3-D printing mean more […]

Tech Tent: Winners and losers in the ‘gig’ economy

Tech Tent: Winners and losers in the 'gig' economy

Stream the latest Tech Tent episode on the BBC website On this week’s Tech Tent we address one of the key questions of the era – what is new technology doing to jobs? We also look at the hunt for better batteries and find out about the latest technology in the toy industry. No, Uber isn’t wiping out taxi drivers

"Does the expansion of the ‘sharing economy’ spell the end of traditional jobs?" That’s the unusually catchy introduction for an academic paper on the effect of Uber on jobs and wages. Protests from established taxi drivers have greeted Uber’s […]

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation–The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation–The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

President Trump likes to blame trade, immigration, and overregulation for job losses in the American heartland. But that’s generally not how economists see it. They say machines are a more important reason why companies don’t employ people like they used to. In several industries, like steel, industrial output is as high as it’s always been. It’s just that manufacturers need less labor to do the work. “Almost 88% of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth,” one recent study by economists at Ball State University said.
If it’s true that automation is more […]

The future of American jobs lies with the tech industry

The future of American jobs lies with the tech industry

When Donald Trump won the election, many in Silicon Valley were flummoxed: “How could a bigoted billionaire with no government experience and a twitchy Twitter trigger finger win the U.S. presidential election?” they asked themselves.

Liberal outlets have tried to make sense of the massive divide between “our” (upper-class liberals working in tech) vision of the country and “their” (blue-collar workers) vision of the country. We are facing a collective identity crisis, living in a “ post-truth ” world, utterly perplexed as to how a person so at odds with our Bay Area politics could win the most important […]

Manufacturing jobs are finally returning to North America…for robots

Manufacturing jobs are finally returning to North America…for robots

Amazon fulfillment centres use robots for a growing number of tasks. (Brandon Bailey/AP) Let’s start with the good news: manufacturing is returning to North America. It is called “re-shoring” and is happening for several reasons. Chief among these is that labour costs in Canada and the United States are becoming relatively more competitive as the Chinese economy soared and wages there gradually caught up to more developed economies. But there are other factors at play here, too.

In North America, corporate tax rates have become more globally competitive, as has the cost of energy. Land is also far cheaper in […]

Does Automation Really Wreck People’s Lives and Cause Unemployment?

Does Automation Really Wreck People’s Lives and Cause Unemployment?

There seems to be a lot of fear mongering, especially in the UK, when it comes to automation and the role it plays in causing unemployment, despite evidence that suggests the contrary. Throughout the ages, as humanity evolved, so has the technology and now advancements from the automation industry are helping people work better, faster and in safer conditions, as many jobs that are dangerous can now be performed by robots . However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that by embracing the benefits of automation, employees’ jobs will be at risk and millions of jobs will disappear.

Instead, what’s been happening […]

Work in an automated future

Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stem-cell extraction to grow human bones from a patient’s own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials.

This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies that are coming of […]

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation–The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

President Trump likes to blame trade, immigration, and over-regulation for job losses in the American heartland. But that’s generally not how economists see it. They say machines are a more important reason why companies don’t employ people like they used to. In several industries, like steel, industrial output is as high as it’s always been. It’s just that manufacturers need less labor to do the work. “Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth,” one recent study by economists at Ball State University said.

If it’s true that automation is more […]