Tag: Services

Elon Musk Thinks Universal Income Is Answer To Automation Taking Human Jobs

but menial jobs that generate less value than a living wage but also pay much less than a living wage so the company generates a net profit while taking advantage of someone in a desperate situation, yes those jobs are becoming widespread. 1. But they’re not becoming widespread. Wages are increasing almost everywhere in the world, and jobs are becoming less menial. Compare the terrible jobs that the vast majority had 100 years ago to the jobs they have today. Or the jobs people have in developing countries to the jobs they have in more advanced economies.

This scaremongering being […]

U.S. Manufacturing: Politicians Get it All Wrong

U.S. Manufacturing: Politicians Get it All Wrong

Output is Strong, But Workers Lack Skills for Today’s Jobs

Sharelines Politicians often use the state of manufacturing in the United States as a benchmark for the economy as a whole. And they tend to focus on the supposedly declining number of manufacturing jobs as an indication of economic weakness.

It’s just a small step from there, as we have seen in the current presidential race, to blaming trade and globalization for the current state of affairs.But, as a recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, points out, much of this information is […]

How will artificial intelligence impact on our jobs?

How will artificial intelligence impact on our jobs?

In her fourth article in her series on artificial intelligence, Helen Beers looks at how making machines smart might impact on our jobs and and considers whether it will put anyone out of work as a result.

Catch up on Helen’s previous articles on what artificial intelligence is , the current trends and future developments , and what’s enabling and hindering artificial intelligence .

For centuries, people have been afraid that technology will take their jobs. For example, in the 16 th Century, Elizabeth I believed a machine for knitting stockings would bring ruin to her subjects by […]

Why import workers when robots will do the job?

Why import workers when robots will do the job?

The growth lobby often argues that Australia needs to run high levels of immigration in order to alleviate so-called skills shortages and to mitigate an ageing population.

This view has been debunked many times on this blog.

First, analysis from the Department of Employment shows that Australia’s skills shortage “remains low by historical standards” .Second, there are big question marks over whether immigration can alleviate skills shortages anyway?That is, if Australia imports a whole bunch of workers to alleviate, say, shortages in construction, these workers will inevitably increase demand in other areas (e.g. for various services), thus creating shortages there. Australia […]

Smart Machines Will Eat Jobs–Except Where Smart People Create Them

Smart Machines Will Eat Jobs--Except Where Smart People Create Them

Automation will eat employment. That warning has been issued at every turn in history, with the printing press, the advent of electricity, and the rise of robotics. Phases of automation, and the new trade patterns and agreements that accompany them, destroy jobs that involve repetitive tasks while creating new jobs.

“No office job is safe,” said Sebastian Thrun , Stanford CS professor and MOOC pioneer. “Lots of lawyers, accountants, even surgeons will be automated away. Having spent my career watching the long, slow carnage of my own industry, I have some insight into how that will feel, and how to […]

Future jobs to be driven by digital tech: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Future jobs to be driven by digital tech: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Moreover, automation itself would create large job opportunities in the information technology (IT) space where there is likely to be an explosion of automation software development jobs, she said. HYDERABAD: Automation and digital technologies will drive jobs of the future even as they cannibalise conventional employment while creating a large number of new opportunities, says biotech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw .

According to her, new age businesses like Uber, Ola, Amazon, Flipkart, Airbnb and Alibaba are creating millions of jobs which are several orders of magnitude higher than comparative conventional jobs.

Moreover, automation itself would create large job opportunities in the information […]

The delusion of improved skills

The delusion of improved skills

cartoon Everybody agrees that better education and improved skills, for as many people as possible, is crucial to increasing productivity and living standards and to tackling rising inequality. But what if everybody is wrong?
Most economists are certain that human capital is as important to productivity growth as physical capital. And to some degree, that’s obviously true. Modern economies would not be possible without widespread literacy and numeracy: many emerging economies are held back by inadequate skills.
But one striking feature of the modern economy is how few skilled people are needed to drive crucial areas of economic activity. […]

This Is What’s Next Now That the Gig Economy Has Changed Everything

This Is What's Next Now That the Gig Economy Has Changed Everything

Greater change is coming and new emerging platforms are changing markets in multiple industries.

The rise of the freelancer: some estimates are that over 54 million Americans are now taking contractual gigs rather than steady employment. After the recession, some temporary gigs were necessary — but the experiments in Mechanical Turk and Uber driving gigs that sprouted up seemingly over night took hold. Contractors and freelancers are the norm, now.

But perhaps not for long — freelancers may turn out to be temps, after all, if technology keeps moving at the blistering pace we’ve seen. That’s just the beginning […]

Study: Huge job boost from turning to machines

Study: Huge job boost from turning to machines

Switzerland can expect 270,000 new jobs created through the first quarter of this century due to workplace automation transforming the economy, a leading consulting firm said on Thursday.

The report from Deloitte concludes that the phenomenon of automation is having a “positive impact on the Swiss labour market” by creating many more jobs than are being replaced by machines. The engine behind that, it says, would be lower prices for goods and higher wages.

“Overall, increasing automation brings considerable advantages for the Swiss economy as a whole as well as for companies,” Deloitte said in a statement . “It also […]

The fetishisation of work is making us miserable. Let’s learn to live again

The fetishisation of work is making us miserable. Let’s learn to live again

‘Employees say their bosses want them to put job before family and many are expected to be on call around the clock. More than one in four say they work longer hours than they want to.’ Photograph: Alamy Mounting pressures at work are taking a heavy toll on life at home . Employees say their bosses want them to put job before family, and many are expected to be on call around the clock. More than one in four say they work longer hours than they want to, we learn from the latest YouGov poll .

It’s not a pretty […]