ILO: Low-skilled workers risk being replaced by advanced technology

ILO: Low-skilled workers risk being replaced by advanced technology

Asian workers at a garments production facility. Image from UN-ILO. MANILA – Some 56 percent of salaried workers in the Philippines and four other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries are "at high risk of displacement" due to advances in technology over the next couple of decades, a report of the International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed.

Based on a new study by ILO’s Bureau for Employers’ Activities, titled ASEAN in Transformation: How Technology is Changing Jobs and Enterprises, the potential for growth and employment presented by advanced technologies, "such as additive manufacturing, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), […]

Robots are set to take the jobs of millions of Asian workers in the coming years

Robots are set to take the jobs of millions of Asian workers in the coming years

Workers at a garment factory in Vietnam In the next few decades, about 56% of all salaried workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam could be displaced by automation and advanced technologies, such as 3D printing. That’s the conclusion of an extensive series of new studies by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mass-scale displacement won’t happen overnight, but it’s already in the works. Robots, for instance, are increasingly handling the labor previously done by low-skilled workers in industries such as automotive and electronics manufacturing. For governments and employers willing to educate and train workers for new, high-tech jobs, […]

Where today’s tech can, and can’t, replace humans

Where today’s tech can, and can’t, replace humans

This morning, McKinsey & Co. is releasing a new look at the impact automation is likely to have across various sectors of the economy and, ultimately, the workplace. Its findings are based on analysis of 2,000-plus work activities across more than 800 occupations and includes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The good news, says the report, is that automation will “eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade.” It adds that automation will eventually affect “portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree.”

Whether you see this as a good or bad thing could […]

Good news for U.S. manufacturing? Yes, with caveats

Good news for U.S. manufacturing? Yes, with caveats

Cagle Cartoons National Columnist

Reports of NASA’s Juno spacecraft entering the orbit around Jupiter lit a sparkler in this American heart – on the Fourth of July, no less. It showed that Americans still have what it takes.

To keep spirits orbiting, let’s note another recent American feat that few could have imagined a couple of years ago. The United States is now gaining, not losing, factory jobs. This glad trend has some sobering asterisks attached, but there’s no denying this:There are now nearly a million more factory jobs in this country than there were in 2010. Many of them are […]

U.S. factory jobs increasing, but automation plays key role

Reports of NASA’s Juno spacecraft’s entering the orbit around Jupiter lit a sparkler in this American heart — on the Fourth of July, no less. It showed that Americans still have what it takes.

To keep spirits orbiting, let’s note another recent American feat that few could have imagined a couple of years ago. The United States is now gaining, not losing, factory jobs. This glad trend has some sobering asterisks attached, but there’s no denying this:

There are now nearly a million more factory jobs in this country than there were in 2010. Many of them are coming — surprise, […]

The real impact of robotics and automation advancements

The real impact of robotics and automation advancements

Dear Senate, don’t mess with my automation.

Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) chaired a Joint Economic Committee hearing on May 25, titled, “The Transformative Impact of Robots and Automation.” The hearing touched on the impact of robots and automation on jobs and the economy . Of course, any time a Senate committee starts quoting, "One study found that nearly half of American jobs are at risk of being automated over the next couple of decades," I take an interest.

Several experts testified with some interesting thoughts, and I have many of my own. Also read: Is machine learning smart enough to help […]

Southeast Asia – Robot age could leave half of workers without jobs in the next 20 years

A new study by the ILO (International Labour Organization) Bureau for Employers’ Activities, ASEAN in transformation: How technology is changing jobs and enterprises , shows that more than half of workers in five Southeast Asian countries are at risk for losing their jobs to robots in the next 20 years.

The report examines how technology is affecting workplaces in five major sectors across the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the transformation that enterprises and workers can expect in the next decade.

It shows that low-skill workers will find themselves displaced in favour of automation, and more than 60% […]

Robots threaten 137m Asian jobs in automated future

Robots threaten 137m Asian jobs in automated future

Technologies including 3D printing, wearable technology, nanotechnology and robotic automation are predicted to disrupt the sector Robots and automation could endanger the jobs of more than half of workers in five South-east Asian countries over the next two decades, according to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) study.

It found that those working in the garments industry were particularly vulnerable, but jobs in other industries were also found to be at high risk.

About 137 million workers – approximately 56 per cent of the salaried workforce from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – fall under the high-risk category, the study […]

Millions of SE Asian jobs may be lost to automation in next two decades: ILO

More than half of workers in five Southeast Asian countries are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation in the next two decades, an International Labour Organization study found, with those in the garments industry particularly vulnerable.

About 137 million workers or 56 percent of the salaried workforce from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, fall under the high-risk category, the study showed.

“Countries that compete on low-wage labor need to reposition themselves. Price advantage is no longer enough,” said Deborah France-Massin, director for the ILO’s bureau for employers’ activities. The report said workers have to be trained […]

Cepeda: Smarts should not be mistaken for human worth

Cepeda: Smarts should not be mistaken for human worth

Freedman also rails that: "Even in this age of rampant concern over microaggressions and victimization, we maintain open season on the nonsmart. People who’d swerve off a cliff rather than use a pejorative for race, religion, physical appearance or disability are all too happy to drop the S-bomb: Indeed, degrading others for being ‘stupid’ has become nearly automatic in all forms of disagreement."

And yet … perhaps Freedman doth protest too much.

In all the data he presents about longitudinal studies of IQ as it relates to one’s ability to attain a well-paying job — or the likelihood of becoming obese, […]