Tag: productivity

A UTOMATION AND JOBS: Labour-saving technologies can boost employment [read]

The policy challenge posed by new labour-saving technology is not mass unemployment but how to help workers to make the transition from industries, occupations and regions where automation has destroyed jobs to those where jobs have been created. That is the central conclusion of new research by James Bessen. His study notes that while many people associate automation with a large-scale loss of jobs, as in many of today’s manufacturing industries, in the early years of the cotton textile, primary steel and automotive industries, employment grew strongly along with automation for many decades (see Figure 1 ). The key […]

Asia Leads in Industrial Robot Adoption. Why Do Europe and the U.S. Lag Behind?

Asia Leads in Industrial Robot Adoption. Why Do Europe and the U.S. Lag Behind?

Technology Robots are key tools for boosting productivity and living standards. To date, most robot adoption has occurred in manufacturing, where robots are designed to perform a wide variety of manual tasks more efficiently and consistently than humans. But with continued innovation, robot use is spreading to many other sectors, from agriculture to logistics and hospitality.

As a result, companies around the world are adopting robots. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the global average for industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers grew from 66 robots in 2015 to 85 in 2017. Korea is the world’s largest adopter, with […]

How to Get the AI-powered Economy We Want

How to Get the AI-powered Economy We Want

The American economy accelerated nicely in the middle of last year. A Two Percent Economy no more! Well, at least for a bit. Economic growth now seems to be reverting to the humdrum pace seen over most of the post-Financial Crisis recovery. (The Trump White House, it should be noted, sees things more optimistically .) The combo of slower labor force growth and productivity growth means the economy’s growth potential isn’t what it once was.

But maybe artificial intelligence can accelerate economic growth on a sustained basis by boosting productivity growth. In their 2018 paper, “ AI and the Economy […]

‘Everyone wants to collect data, but a few firms have found a meaningful use’

'Everyone wants to collect data, but a few firms have found a meaningful use'

(From left) Rajrishi Singhal, consulting editor, Mint; Sanjeev Sharma, MD, ABB India Ltd & ABB R&D India; Karan Virwani, CWeO, WeWork India; Rajesh Janey, president and MD, India enterprise, Dell EMC; Sashi Sreedharan, MD, Microsoft India; Rahul Agarwal, CEO and MD, Lenovo India, Piyush Shah, co-founder and president, marketing cloud and data cloud, InMobi at Mint Digital Innovation Summit 2019. Companies need to focus more on putting data to meaningful use rather than just blindly gathering the data. This was the consensus at the CEO Panel during the Mint Digital Innovation Summit . The panel comprised Sanjeev Sharma, managing […]

How to get the AI-powered American economy that we want

The American economy accelerated nicely in the middle of last year. A Two Percent Economy no more! Well, at least for a bit. Economic growth now seems to be reverting to the humdrum pace seen over most of the post-Financial Crisis recovery. (The Trump White House, it should be noted, sees things more optimistically .) The combo of slower labor force growth and productivity growth means the economy’s growth potential isn’t what it once was. I.P. Park, president and chief technical officer for LG Electronics, speaks on artificial intelligence during a keynote address at the 2019 CES in Las […]

Employees more productive, creative in highly automated companies

Employees more productive, creative in highly automated companies

Dive Brief:

Employees in highly automated workplaces are more productive and creative, according to a report from cloud computing firm ServiceNow. High levels of automation also allow for "digital workflows," defined as humans both working with machines and also transitioning from repetitive to creative tasks, ServiceNow said. The report is based on a survey of 6,000 global full-time workers, a survey of about 800 U.S.-based IT executives and more than 20 interviews with global business technology leaders.

According to the report, 80% of employees in highly automated organizations said highly automated workflows raise productivity, compared to 59% of those […]

March 2019: Automation and the Future of Work

March 2019: Automation and the Future of Work

Digitization and automation will displace some workers, create new jobs, and encourage reskilling in industries like retail, logistics, manufacturing, and construction.

Automation’s impact on the job market has been and will continue to be significant, to say the least. Forrester Research calls automation central to the next phase of digital transformation, because it’s driving value in terms of faster product delivery, better product quality and higher dependability, and more personalization and convenience. Alongside all the excitement about automation and the future of work, however, is fear about job displacement and, occasionally, a bit of fear-mongering as well. Certainly, the […]

The revolution need not be automated

The revolution need not be automated

BOSTON – Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of our lives, not least the economy. As a general-purpose technology, AI’s applications are potentially endless. While it can be used to automate tasks previously performed by people, it can also make human labor more productive, thereby increasing labor demand. Unfortunately, the current trend in commercial AI development is toward more and more automation, with potentially disastrous consequences for society. To be sure, automation has been an engine of productivity growth since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when, starting in the late eighteenth century, weaving and spinning were mechanised. But […]

1.5 million jobs in England at risk of being replaced by automation

1.5 million jobs in England at risk of being replaced by automation

The Office for National Statistics announced this week that 1.5 million jobs in England are at risk of being replaced by automation. Computer programs, algorithms, and robots are forecast to replace a variety of roles in the future, and those roles which are low-skill and routine-driven.

The ONS reached its findings by analysing the jobs of 20 million people in England in 2017. It found that 7.4% of those jobs are at ‘high risk’ of replacement by automation.

Most notable in the ONS findings is the warning that women and young people are statistically most vulnerable to automation. 70.2% of high-risk […]

The Revolution Need Not Be Automated

The Revolution Need Not Be Automated

For centuries after the Industrial Revolution, automation did not hinder wage and employment growth, because it was accompanied by new technologies geared toward maintaining the role of human labor in value creation. But in the era of artificial intelligence, it will be up to policymakers to ensure that the pattern continues.

BOSTON – Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of our lives, not least the economy. As a general-purpose technology, AI’s applications are potentially endless. While it can be used to automate tasks previously performed by people, it can also make human labor more productive, thereby increasing labor demand. Unfortunately, […]