Tag: manufactur

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, […]

Automation will not just hit IT but these 10 jobs, too. Are you part of any?

Automation will not just hit IT but these 10 jobs, too. Are you part of any?

With land, machinery, chemicals and seeds becoming expensive and technology providing cost-effective labour solutions, the days of the individual farmers are numbered. Automation has everyone on the edge. According to a recent report by US-based research firm ‘HfS Research’, India’s IT services industry, which employs around 3.7 million people, will lose 6.4 lakh jobs to automation in the next five years.

The report further adds that the IT industry worldwide would see a net decrease of 9% in headcount, or about 1.4 million jobs, with countries such as the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States also taking hits […]

Future proofing your job

Future proofing your job

On Monday night, ABC Four Corners ran a ripper report entitled “Future Proof” , which examines the future of work in Australia and whether we are preparing our children properly for the future.

The report features a bunch of experts and commentators, some of who believe that up to 40% of current jobs (5 million) could disappear within 15 years as technological change takes hold, although many of these will be replaced by new jobs in areas that we probably haven’t even thought of.

Below are some key extracts from the transcript , beginning with the pessimistic news: GEOFF THOMPSON: Today […]

Barack Obama wrong about size of U.S. steel production, work force

Barack Obama wrong about size of U.S. steel production, work force

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, share a laugh with U.S. President Barack Obama after his address to Parliament in Ottawa, on June 29, 2016. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP) Activity at the ArcelorMittal coke factory, which currently employs about 180 people, in Monessen, Pa., on June 30, 2016. (Jeff Swensen/New York Times) When Donald Trump made a high-profile speech outlining his approach to trade, he did it in Monessen, Pa., a town near Pittsburgh where a big steel mill has been shuttered for the past three decades.

A day after Trump’s speech, Barack […]

Politifact: Obama Wrong on Steel Production

Politifact: Obama Wrong on Steel Production

By Greg Richter | Tuesday, 05 Jul 2016 07:13 PM President Barack Obama got it wrong when he said last week that "The steel industry is producing as much steel in the United States as it ever was. It’s just (that) it needs one-tenth of the workers that it used to," Politifact says.
Obama made the claim during a summit in Ottawa one day after presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump slammed manufacturers for moving jobs into other countries. Trump was speaking near Pittsburgh, where the once dominant steel industry has been hammered in recent decades.

Obama took issue […]

The Enemies of Economic Independence

The founders sought more than political independence from Europe. They also sought to secure America’s economic independence. To that end, the second bill enacted by the first Congress was the Tariff Act of 1789 , the stated purpose of which was "the encouragement and protection of manufactures." The end result of America’s reliance on the tariff was both prosperity and economic independence, as American manufacturing became the envy of the world and Americans ended up relying on fellow Americans for most of the goods they purchased. This happy situation was brought to an end by our elites’ fatuous embrace […]

Book review: The Rise Of The Robots

Book review: The Rise Of The Robots

The Rise Of The Robots—Technology And The Threat Of Mass Unemployment: By Martin Ford, Oneworld Publications, 334 pages, Rs.599. If the Industrial Revolution introduced the assembly-line production concept in factories, the 1950s and 1960s saw companies like General Motors introduce robotics on shop floors. These developments, however, will pale in comparison to what is in store for the human workforce a few decades from now, given the acceleration in capabilities of software automation and artificial intelligence (AI) driven predictive algorithms.

The Rise Of The Robots—Technology And The Threat Of Mass Employment by Martin Ford is a well-researched attempt to […]

Robots, Jobs and Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry

Robots, Jobs and Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry

Reprinted with Permission

The Association for Advancing Automation recently published a white paper discussing the impact of industrial robotics on productivity and employment in the manufacturing industry. We would like to share our thoughts about its main findings.

Figure 1 below illustrates the evolution of robot shipments and employment for almost 20 years. The relationship between those two is clearly visible. As the robot shipments slowed down (blue bars), like in 2001-2002 and 2007-2010, so did nonfarm employment (green bars). . The industrial robot shipments are linked with the growth in manufacturing labor productivity, as it can be seen in […]