Tag: manufactur

The United Nations claims automation will take 2/3rds of jobs in developing nations

The United Nations claims automation will take 2/3rds of jobs in developing nations

What a fitting time. Seeing as America just elected the least qualified party to handle the automation problem in America as well as a candidate promising the return of automatable jobs, we now know the sights and conflict are poised to wreck the fuck out of the developing world. They have it worse than many first world societies, where the concerns are one in three jobs are dissolved. All figures, assuming the worst of them pose true, are concerns for social conflict, insecurity, and instability.

Have some more darkly sobering news today . Some excerpts… Industrialization has historically been […]

Trump promises to bring back manufacturing jobs, but robots won’t let him

Trump promises to bring back manufacturing jobs, but robots won’t let him

For Americans struggling with stagnant wages, under- or un-employment, one of Donald Trump’s most appealing campaign promises was to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Navigating the complexities of policy, tariffs and geopolitics would make that hard enough already for the president elect. But technology will make this promise nearly impossible to fulfill.

Why? Because manufacturing jobs are increasingly done by robots, not people.Robotics have already helped reduce reliance on labor overseas for manufacturers in automotive, electrical and electronics industries, according to a fresh policy report from the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development. And automation does allow manufacturers […]

Supply Chain News: Are Manufacturers Waiting for the Next Recession to Deploy All the Robots?

There have clearly been tremendous, almost mind-boggling improvements in robotic technology in recent years. Yet, the impact on employment in the US thus far – especially in the manufacturing sector – has been modest at best to date. Despite the rise of robotic capabilities over the period since the recession year of 2009, US manufacturing employment is up slowly but steadily, though tailing off just a bit in the past year, as can be seen in the chart below from the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve bank.
The gray vertical bars in the chart indicate recessions, and […]

Robots, Not the Chinese, Are Taking American Factory Jobs

Robots, Not the Chinese, Are Taking American Factory Jobs

Factory production in America has maintained a steady growth over the past few decades, making the country No. 2 in the world just behind production powerhouse China. However, as machines begin to take over and do much of the manufacturing work, factory jobs have declined significantly.

Since 1979, when manufacturing employment peaked in the United States, it has lost more than 7 million factory jobs due to an increase of the use of robots in factories, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Meanwhile, critics such as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have often blamed low-wage foreign workers from Mexico and […]

It’s the one thing Trump and Clinton agree on – and it’s probably a fantasy

It’s the one thing Trump and Clinton agree on – and it’s probably a fantasy

On Sept. 8, 2010, General Motors workers cheer as the first Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan off the assembly line, at the GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta) If there’s one thing Americans agree on, it’s collective nostalgia for the days when workers actually made things — when American factory workers earned good wages helping to crank out cars, refrigerators, furniture and other goods for consumers in the U.S. and around the world. So it’s no surprise that politicians are also united in pledging to bring those manufacturing jobs back to America, as both Donald Trump and Hillary […]

Slow-Motion Automation

Slow-Motion Automation

Illustration by Richard Mia Automation — in the form of machine learning, robotics, autonomous vehicles, white-collar bots, exoskeletons, and so on — is changing the nature of work in a wide range of industries. In conducting research for my new book, Silicon Collar: An Optimistic Perspective on Humans, Machines, and Jobs (Deal Architect, 2016), I examined people at work in more than 50 settings: accounting firms and banks, the battlefront and digital agencies, the oil patch and restaurants, R&D labs and shop floors, warehouses and wineries. And it is clear that the old divisions among professions and trades have […]

Robots, not trade, behind many factory-job losses

Robots, not trade, behind many factory-job losses

A worker loads spools of thread at the Repreve Bottle Processing Center, part of the Unifi textile company in Yadkinville, North Carolina. WASHINGTON — Donald Trump blames Mexico and China for stealing millions of jobs from the United States.

He might want to bash the robots instead.

Despite the Republican presidential nominee’s charge "we don’t make anything anymore," manufacturing still is flourishing in America.Problem is, factories don’t need as many people as they used to because machines now do so much of the work.America has lost more than 7 million factory jobs since manufacturing employment peaked in 1979. Susan Stacy moves […]

The Skills Delusion

The Skills Delusion

Adair Turner Everybody agrees that better education and improved skills, for as many people as possible, is crucial to increasing productivity and living standards and to tackling rising inequality. But what if everybody is wrong?

Most economists are certain that human capital is as important to productivity growth as physical capital. And to some degree, that’s obviously true. Modern economies would not be possible without widespread literacy and numeracy: many emerging economies are held back by inadequate skills.

But one striking feature of the modern economy is how few skilled people are needed to drive crucial areas of economic activity. Facebook […]

Blame put on robots for job losses

Blame put on robots for job losses

A worker loads spools of thread at the automated Repreve yarn-making plant in Yadkinville, N.C., which is part of the Unifi textile company. Drone carts at the plant now do jobs that people once did. WASHINGTON — Donald Trump blames Mexico and China for stealing millions of jobs from the United States.

He might want to bash the robots instead.

Despite the Republican presidential nominee’s claim that "we don’t make anything anymore," manufacturing is still flourishing in America. Problem is, factories don’t need as many people as they used to because machines now do so much of the work.America has lost […]

Elon Musk Thinks Universal Income Is Answer To Automation Taking Human Jobs

but menial jobs that generate less value than a living wage but also pay much less than a living wage so the company generates a net profit while taking advantage of someone in a desperate situation, yes those jobs are becoming widespread. 1. But they’re not becoming widespread. Wages are increasing almost everywhere in the world, and jobs are becoming less menial. Compare the terrible jobs that the vast majority had 100 years ago to the jobs they have today. Or the jobs people have in developing countries to the jobs they have in more advanced economies.

This scaremongering being […]