Tag: Services

Is Skynet really coming for our jobs?

Cross-posted from Independent Australia :

It’s almost scary to think that the world as we know it may well be run by Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) one day.

While the risk of an imminent AI disruption of the labour market may sound like a fantasy, those with the most advanced AI technologies at hand think that AI is an imminent threat. They say an Industry 4.0 or cyber physical systems ( CPS ) revolution is coming whether we like it or not. Is this really true?AI in the labour market means the use of intelligent software to […]

Supercuts and the Future of (Too Many) Jobs

Supercuts and the Future of (Too Many) Jobs

Last week I got my hair cut at Supercuts. The wonderful old-fashioned barber shop that I always go to was closed for their annual vacation week, and I desperately needed a haircut for a big talk I was about to give. So Supercuts it was.

The haircut that I got a Supercuts was fine. The price was low, and the stylist was professional efficient.

The problem was the experience. There was a big line of people wanting to their hair cut, and not enough stylists to do the cutting. This was not due to a lack of barber chairs. There were […]

The Four Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Four Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The evolution of global industries to Industry 4.0 (Rev 4.0) is both exciting and scary. Industry 4.0 is the designated code name for a combination of traditional manufacturing practices and industrial processes with technological capabilities, from automation to AI. From factories becoming self-monitoring to delivery vehicles becoming self-driving. Whilst there are many benefits of Industry 4.0, there are several key challenges that lie ahead. Cybersecurity

Having everything attached to everything else in the Internet of things (IoT) is going to monumentally increase the vulnerabilities present in any given network. With more nodes, connections and burden of connectivity, systems are […]

It’s a tough economy for workers without a bachelor’s degree. But it’s better in Minnesota than in a lot of other states.

It’s a tough economy for workers without a bachelor’s degree. But it’s better in Minnesota than in a lot of other states.

Minnesota’s manufacturing sector is more focused on durable goods (goods that last for more than three years) which tend to be more expensive to manufacture and transport than nondurable goods. The 2016 election brought a renewed national focus on the plight of the blue collar worker in the modern American economy. With the bulk of growth in well-paying jobs happening in more skilled sectors, where is the worker without a four-year degree to go to find work?

Minnesota, for one, according to a new report from researchers at Georgetown University’s Center On Education and the Workforce , which ranked Minnesota […]

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact the UK Economy?

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact the UK Economy?

Nearly 50 years since the IT revolution, the fourth industrial revolution is looming and it will be instigated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) . This is the growing phenomenon where machines act like humans. AI can involve analysing large datasets through to automating manual tasks in a factory. Companies such as Facebook are researching ways to help the blind see pictures and Google has a goal to create a self driving car. There is also a plethora of financial startups erupting the market to automise back office operations through to accounting functions. Now seems like the most prevalent time to […]

Legal automation spells relief for lower-income Americans, hard times for lawyers

Legal automation spells relief for lower-income Americans, hard times for lawyers

Robots that help contest small fines could signal a move towards ‘fewer lawyers’ and ‘more justice.’

“Here’s the dirty little secret about automation: it’s easier to build a robot to replace a junior attorney than to replace a journeyman electrician.”

That’s Mark Mills, noting that it’s white-collar jobs that may be the next casualties of automation . “Instead of creative destruction coming to factories and farms, it’s sweeping through city centers and taking white-collar jobs.” White-collar workers used to think they were safe from automation while lesser breeds suffered unemployment. But now they’re on the front lines.That’s certainly the case […]

The existential challenge of AI

The existential challenge of AI

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are reshaping the institutional investment management industry from all angles.

Over the last decade, high-speed automated trading has already revolutionised the day-to-day operation of financial markets and robo-advice has revamped the way wealth managers engage with clients. AI is upending the profit models of many companies in institutional investment portfolios. Within funds, many workers with repetitive and numbers-based jobs are set to be replaced. But the biggest fallout on superannuation and pension managers from the changing nature of work could be how it destroys the livelihoods of millions of their clients.

Tesla chief executive […]

Filling jobs toughest task for Tennessee manufacturers

Filling jobs toughest task for Tennessee manufacturers

Denise Rice, director of Cleveland operations and development… With one of every four factory workers retiring in the next decade, Tennessee manufacturers say their biggest worry is getting enough qualified workers for the future for increasingly technology-based factories, even with an average manufacturing wage in the state of $66,000.

Despite the labor challenge, however, manufacturers are more optimistic since Donald Trump was elected president and the state revamped its tax system this year.

Among major manufacturers in the Volunteer state surveyed by the Tennessee Manufacturers Association earlier this year, workforce challenges were identified as their biggest concern, ahead of concerns over […]

Jobs supporting middle-class living will lag others over next 5 years

Jobs supporting middle-class living will lag others over next 5 years

New data from Careerbuilder.com suggests low-wage jobs will grow faster than ‘middle-wage’ and ‘high-wage’ jobs over the next five years. USA TODAY

Low-wage jobs are expected to grow the fastest over the next five years while occupations that support a middle-class living will lag, according to a new CareerBuillder survey.

Technology and globalization will continue to reshape the labor market, paring some middle-wage factory and office jobs in particular.All told, low-wage jobs are projected to increase by 3 million, or 5.57%, through 2022. High-wage jobs will increase by 2.7 million, or 5.1%, and middle-wage payrolls will grow by 2.2 million, or […]

Are we getting too much of the wrong kind of innovation?

One of the complexities when thinking about innovation, technological progress, productivity, and jobs is that each of those factors isn’t just one thing. For instance, Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, has differentiated between three different sorts of innovation. Christensen : The first are “empowering” innovations. These transform complicated, costly products that previously had been available only to a few people, into simpler, cheaper products available to many. The second type are “sustaining” innovations. These replace old products with new. … The third type are “efficiency” innovations. These reduce the cost of making and distributing existing products […]