Britain Needs To Truly Understand The Coming Robot Revolution

Britain Needs To Truly Understand The Coming Robot Revolution

Bloomberg via Getty Images In the 2016 London Assembly elections, I was shortlisted to go to the first round of candidate selections for Lewisham and Greenwich. One of the key aspects of my pitch was to turn London from one of the most toxic environments in terms of air quality to one of the best cities in the world, specifically by removing all diesel vehicles from London by 2021. One of those attending in the audience asked me, “take a taxi driver with their own vehicle, how are you going to convince them to do this?”. My response brought […]

Digitalisation of work: blessing for some, curse for others

Digitalisation of work: blessing for some, curse for others

It is a commonplace that we live in the age of disruption. The latest trend towards digitalisation is set to accelerate changes in the workplace and transform the labour market perhaps irreversibly. Current debates on the digitalisation of work concern the extent and degree to which advanced technology such as robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and algorithmic decision-making could substitute for manual labour. More worryingly, this is considered to be a potentiality that affects not only the manufacturing industry but also the services sectors and impact on knowledge-intensive jobs.

But technological innovations do not only lead to the displacement of […]

Artificial intelligence is not there, but it is expected

Artificial intelligence is not there, but it is expected

see photogallery In 2014, the Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk s eñaló que la raza humana está mucho más cerca de un levantamiento de robots parecido a la ciencia ficción de lo que la mayoría de la gente cree: “El riesgo de que algo muy peligroso ocurra es en el plazo de cinco años. Diez años como máximo”. Muchos estarán de acuerdo conmigo en que vamos tarde para el primer plazo. Me atrevo a apostar –sin miedo a equivocarme- que también para el segundo.

Since time immemorial, man has strived to visualize and predict the future, and the higher intelligences […]

California tax on robots, automation equals a tax on innovation

California tax on robots, automation equals a tax on innovation

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrates a self-service order kiosk during a presentation last year at a McDonald’s restaurant in New York City. McDonald’s hopes to have the kiosks in 2,500 restaurants by year’s end and in 14,000 by 2020. (AP) new study by the McKinsey Global Institute about the potential of automation should serve as a stark warning to all world leaders that they must prepare for what may very well be the biggest societal and economic upheaval in our lifetime.

The report builds off this core finding: In about 60 percent of occupations, at least one-third of job tasks […]

Automation threatens 800 million jobs, but technology could still save us, says report

Automation threatens 800 million jobs, but technology could still save us, says report

A new report predicts that by 2030, as many as 800 million jobs could be lost worldwide to automation. The study , compiled by the McKinsey Global Institute, says that advances in AI and robotics will have a drastic effect on everyday working lives, comparable to the shift away from agricultural societies during the Industrial Revolution. In the US alone, between 39 and 73 million jobs stand to be automated — making up around a third of the total workforce.

But, the report also states that as in the past, technology will not be a purely destructive force. New jobs […]

Will the coming AI revolution leave us all free to explore higher-minded pursuits?

Will the coming AI revolution leave us all free to explore higher-minded pursuits?

Sophia the robot is designed to be approachable / EPA There is a hint of Audrey Hepburn about her. It’s intentional; it’s all part of making her likeable. Sophia, the brainchild of Hanson Robotics , has become something of a media darling. She, or if you prefer, it, has been wowing audiences around the world. Her seemingly sentient responses, social intelligence – albeit artificial intelligence – and quickish wit have paved the way for Sophia to become the world’s first "celebradroid" (celebrity android). For sure, she is the first robot to be given a national citizenship (Saudi) and she […]

Milford company wants to help regional manufacturers automate

Milford company wants to help regional manufacturers automate

Buy Now 966 Industries owner Kevin Frodermann wants to help bring automation to forefront in the region. The Milford, Iowa-based company provides industrial robotics integration sales, service and consulting and also provides machine shop services. Tim Hynds Sioux City Journal MILFORD, Iowa — Contrary to popular belief among those opposed to automation, Kevin Frodermann doesn’t want robots to take human’s jobs.

Instead, the 37-year-old owner of 966 Industries of Milford, Iowa, wants to use the expertise of he and his staff to help to help regional companies automate systems through the use of robotics so they can find more fulfilling […]

Replacing Human Hands with Octinion’s Partially 3D Printed Strawberry Picking Robot

Replacing Human Hands with Octinion's Partially 3D Printed Strawberry Picking Robot

Belgian engineering company Octinion has developed what it is touting as a “fully autonomous strawberry picking robot.” If you’ve ever wondered how those baskets of fresh strawberries get to your supermarket, Octinion would like the answer to be, from the pincers of their creation. Agriculture is doing its best to integrate high tech into their industry, from self-driving tractors to state-of-the-art monitoring systems. Now, they are hoping that with this creature they will be able to move berry picking into the 21st century. In addition to being able to pick strawberries without damaging them at a rate of one […]

800 million workers will be replaced by Robots by 2030, study suggests

800 million workers will be replaced by Robots by 2030, study suggests

800 million workers will be replaced by machines by 2030, study suggests One-third of US workers could be jobless by 2030 due to automation

A new study by the consultancy firm, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), reveals that up to one-third of the United States workers and 800 million workers globally could lose their jobs as a result of automation by 2030.

The new report, entitled “Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation,” builds on previous MGI research published in January of 2017. The consulting firm now estimates that between 400 million and 800 million individuals […]

How doctors and bots can (and should) work together

How doctors and bots can (and should) work together

Image Credit: Pixabay The fear that machines will replace humans in the workplace is not a new one . In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes conjectured that in the years to come, modern economies would face a new kind of affliction: what Keynes called “technological unemployment.” During the Industrial Revolution — one of the more notable examples of a radical paradigm shift in the labor market due to automation — textile laborers were supplanted by steam-powered machinery. Today, we no longer manually assemble cars in factories. The days of human telephone switchboard operators are long gone. And by some […]