Tag: Services

UK office workers have their say on automation

UK office workers have their say on automation

Smart office A survey of over 1,000 UK office workers has revealed that nearly half of them believe automation will have a positive impact on their jobs in the future.

A new study has shown that nearly half (48%) of UK office workers are optimistic about the impact automation technologies will have on the workplace of the future.

Capgemini commissioned independent research company Opinium to survey over 1,000 UK office workers to explore their attitudes and expectations of cutting-edge technologies including automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning.The survey found that 40% of respondents believe machine learning will have […]

Rising Inequality May Be the Real Risk of Automation

Rising Inequality May Be the Real Risk of Automation

If your main worry over automation is losing your job, history suggests you’ll probably be just fine.

After all, even a century of unprecedented technological advancement in transportation, production and communication hasn’t caused labor’s share of national income to significantly budge. Economists David Autor and Anna Salomons reckon that’s because the primary driver of employment has actually been population growth, despite all the emphasis placed in academic circles on how machines augment human labor as well as why they will ultimately replace us anyway.

The bigger concern, they say, is how technological advances will affect earnings distribution.Essentially, the argument that the […]

The end of jobs and the future of work

The end of jobs and the future of work

It seems that whatever the country, whatever the economic context, the critical question is becoming ever more pertinent; what is the future of work in an era of exponential technology development?

“Artificial intelligence is arguably the big game changer and becoming more commonplace. We already see narrow AI in use in internet searches, customer targeting applications, and in predictive analytics. But AI has much greater capability that will merge into every aspect of our lives in the future. Increasingly devices will learn more about us, provide an ever-increasing range of support and take on more of our tasks. We […]

job losses due to automation

job losses due to automation

Thirteen years ago, two prominent U.S. economists wrote that driverless cars couldn’t execute a left turn against oncoming traffic because too many factors were involved. Six years later, Google proved it could make fully autonomous cars, threatening the livelihoods of millions of truck and taxi drivers. Throughout much of the developed world, gainful employment is seen as almost a fundamental right. But what if, in the not-too-distant future, there won’t be enough jobs to go around? That’s what some economists think will happen as robots and artificial intelligence increasingly become capable of performing human tasks. Of course, past technological […]

Meet tech industry headwinds with the right skillset engines

Meet tech industry headwinds with the right skillset engines

Workers are seen at their workstations on the floor of an outsourcing centre in Bangalore, in this file photo. Reuters File

A technology hawk which bulks up India’s foreign exchange could be slowing down, but a hawk is still a hawk even if it flies low. The fact remains that growth rates have moderated for most IT services companies globally. Each company has a different painpoint (manufacturing, utilities, energy, healthcare and retail, among others) but at an aggregate level this has meant lower growth rate for India’s tech services titans TCS, HCL, Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant.

IT industry body Nasscom’s constant […]

Bad News: Automation Will Terminate Many Millennial Jobs

Bad News: Automation Will Terminate Many Millennial Jobs

Terminator Genisys Millennials supporting the minimum wage hike trends better rethink themselves, because a new report from Gallup shows that many of those entry-level jobs will be terminated by robots. No telling if they’ll be back. A Gallup study said that 37 percent of millennials are at “high risk” of being replaced by either artificial intelligence (AI) or automation. The news is slightly better at 32 percent for Generation X and Baby Boomers. The five percent divergence rate is because millennials lack work experience, where older generations are more likely to hold higher-ranking positions. The study said that only […]

Disappearance of Work: QuickTake

Thirteen years ago, two prominent U.S. economists wrote that driverless cars couldn’t execute a left turn against oncoming traffic because too many factors were involved. Six years later, Google proved it could make fully autonomous cars, threatening the livelihoods of millions of truck and taxi drivers. Throughout much of the developed world, gainful employment is seen as almost a fundamental right. But what if, in the not-too-distant future, there won’t be enough jobs to go around? That’s what some economists think will happen as robots and artificial intelligence increasingly become capable of performing human tasks. Of course, past technological […]

Automation’s Destruction Of Jobs: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet…

Automation's Destruction Of Jobs: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet...

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Employers have no choice: it’s innovate/automate or die.

Automation–networked robotics, software and processes–has already had a major impact on jobs. As this chart from my colleague Gordon T. Long illustrates, the rise of Internet technologies is reflected in the steady, long-term decline of the labor force participation rate– the percentage of the populace that is actively in the labor market. The oft-repeated fantasy is that every new wave of technological innovation creates more jobs than it destroys. Not this time: the total number of full-time jobs has stagnated for […]

Amazon’s Real Agenda Behind Whole Foods Bid

Amazon's Real Agenda Behind Whole Foods Bid

There’s always a fine line between creative disruption and creative destruction. Such is the beastly nature of capitalism.

Amazon.com Inc. ‘s nearly $14 billion bid for Whole Foods is about more than just acquiring a means to sell high-end food products online. It’s about busting the supply chain in an ancient business.

I have no direct knowledge pipeline into Amazon’s strategy for acquiring Whole Foods , which is known for overpriced, organic products. But it’s clear that they want to re-invent the grocery business and create a new business model. There are several positive and negative scenarios. Jeff Bezos, chief […]

Should Whole Foods Employees Fear Amazon?

Should Whole Foods Employees Fear Amazon?

Employees at Whole Foods Market have expressed concerns over Amazon’s proposed acquisition of the grocery chain. Whole Foods is known for its inclusive decision making, good pay, and benefits. Grocery store employees expressed their fears to Reuters that Amazon’s profit-driven business model and inclination for automation may result in layoffs.

Bloomberg reports , via an anonymous source, that Amazon plans to implement technology to eliminate cashiers in order to cut costs. An Amazon spokesman disputes that report saying there are “no plans to use no-checkout technology to automate the jobs of cashiers at Whole Foods and no job reductions are […]