Tag: productivity

Will automation replace jobs

RA Mashelkar: “Automation to replace 69% jobs a serious concern” Leading scientist and former CSIR chief, Dr RA Mashelkar explains the emerging technological scenario, the subsequent job losses and how to deal with it, in this interview with National Herald Will automation ever replace the role of a sales rep? and AI are likely to replace 7% of all jobs in the U. It won’t just be blue-collar jobs operating factory machinery, either. ‘s podcast, editors and writers talk about how automation technology could replace 5 percent of jobs globally and how startup Circle Pay created the email for […]

Hutchins Roundup: Debt forgiveness, automated tasks, and more

Hutchins Roundup: Debt forgiveness, automated tasks, and more

Studies in this week’s Hutchins Roundup find that debt forgiveness policies mitigated some of the effects of the Great Recession, automation contributes to productivity less than it did in the past, and more.

Want to receive the Hutchins Roundup as an email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Thursday .

High levels of household debt played an important role in the Great Recession, implying that debt forgiveness policies might have been beneficial. Adrien Auclert of Stanford University, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham of Yale University, and Will S. Dobbie of Princeton University use the large variation in state bankruptcy laws […]

Will technology really destroy jobs, or will it make working more fun?

Will technology really destroy jobs, or will it make working more fun?

According to the ONS, 1.5 million jobs are in danger of being in some way automated. But the ONS report does not tell the full story. The truth is, technology could have devastating economic consequences, or it could create the happiest workforce in history. Technology could destroy jobs, but it could put an end to tedium in the workplace. Roughly 200 years ago, the Luddites went around smashing up machines, so great was their fear that technology would destroy jobs; today we have academics and now esteemed compilers of statistics, such as the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) […]

Robots and AI Spell Change for Workers, Rather Than Replacement, per Cowden Associates

PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 27, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — In late 2017, the McKinsey Global Institute released a report estimating that the relentless march of automation could eliminate up to 73 million jobs in the U.S. by 2030.[1] "Automation is certainly a factor in the future of the workforce," says Elliot Dinkin, a nationally known expert in actuarial , compensation , and employee benefits issues. "There are indications, however that its effect on downsizing may be less than what has been predicted. The largest corporate layoffs of this century to date, for example, seem primarily to have been caused not by […]

Addressing the people and productivity conundrum

Addressing the people and productivity conundrum

Laurence Wood discusses how the food industry’s reliance upon manual labour is likely to change in the near future requiring a greater uptake of robotics and automation to help the food industry increase productivity, quality and yield.

In recent years, many UK food manufacturers have relied heavily on EU nationals to bolster their workforce. Now, however we a decline in the number of EU nationals working in this sector. Furthermore, statistics from the Food & Drink Federation predict that food and drink manufacturing businesses will need to recruit an additional 140,000 individuals by 2024 to meet the demands […]

A future without work in the age of automation

A future without work in the age of automation

For decades, authors and futurists have predicted a time where machines will take over the workforce, and our world will be one where day-to-day drudgery is eliminated, replaced with endless leisure and nearly limitless freedom to do what we want, when we want.

However, gearing up for a world without work means coming to terms with the roles work plays in society, and finding alternative ways to spend our time. For one, we rely on work for our purchasing power, and our ability to buy the goods and services we need to survive. But soaring productivity will provide us with […]

The Siren of Universal Basic Income

The Siren of Universal Basic Income

Word on the street is that Andrew Yang—a Democratic presidential hopeful—has a fat bag of cash that he’s willing to give out to all American citizens if he becomes president. Traveling with my staff, I told someone to secure the bag. — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) March 15, 2019 Although I have yet to see the bag, I trust Andrew Yang without reservation. The bag is secure and stuffed with paper. We can all look forward to getting a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 per month if he wins.

Scratch that— when he wins. Who doesn’t want $1,000 a month? […]

Wage increment essential to Nigeria’s economic growth – Prof. Daron Acemoglu

Wage increment essential to Nigeria’s economic growth – Prof. Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu Economist Turkish-born American Economist, Daron Acemoglu, has argued that in order for the Nigerian economy to grow faster, there’s a need for the Government to prioritise wage increment and the creation of employment for its citizens.

Acemoglu stated this while giving a lecture to mark First Bank’s 125th anniversary celebration event, which was held at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The notable Economist was speaking on the theme: ‘Institutional Impact on Economic growth and Improved Living Standards.”He emphasized that job creation and other elements such as good health and education, are needed to achieve high-quality economic growth […]

Professors from MIT and Boston University discuss why you need to worry about the ‘wrong kind of AI’

Professors from MIT and Boston University discuss why you need to worry about the ‘wrong kind of AI’

Daron Acemoglu, a professor from MIT (Massachusettes Institute of Technology) and Pascual Restrepo, a professor from Boston University published a paper earlier this month, titled, “The Wrong Kind of AI? Artificial Intelligence and the future of Labor Demand”.

In the paper, professors talk about how recent technological advancements have been biased towards automation, thereby, changing the focus from creating new tasks to productively employ labor. They argue that the consequences of this choice have been ceasing the labor demand, decreasing labor share in national income, increasing equality, and low productivity growth. Automation technologies do not increase labor’s productivity

Professors […]

Not just Modi! Any government will struggle to create jobs in future

Not just Modi! Any government will struggle to create jobs in future

The multiple claims, and counter-claims on job creation numbers make for a fascinating read.

In July 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Parliament that over a year, nearly a crore or 10 million jobs were generated if both formal and informal sectors were taken into account. Citing a study from an "independent institute", he stitched the new enrolment numbers from the Employee Provident Fund and the National Pension Scheme while also factoring in the number of new professionals such as chartered accountants and doctors joining the system to calculate formal jobs. Professionals, when they start their own practice, create jobs. […]